Talk of the Town

 

Talk of the Town

Bill Barksdale, Columnist

I don’t know how many times I can say in this column how much I love Willits.  I don’t know why, but it’s such a good fit for those of us it fits.  It’s the people really.  Like this morning, I had just gotten up, was wearing my sweats and opening the blinds when I saw my dear old friend Norma Hanson walking past.  I opened the door and called out to her and she stopped and we chatted and laughed for quite a while.  That’s kind of the style of our friendship. 

Years ago Norma and I decided to take a ceramics class at Mendocino College.  As I recall it was two evenings a week.  Our first teacher was the late, great Bob Kirkpatrick.  Bob used to be the Superintendent of Schools I think.  He was a wonderful teacher.  Once he taught us the basics we were pretty much left on our own to create whatever we could.  Norma and I became attracted to throwing pots on the wheel, so we each have lots of bowls in all shapes and sizes. This was back in 2001. 

We would chatter all the way down to Ukiah, all through the class and all the way home.  The thing about throwing a pot on a wheel is, you have to concentrate.  That lump of clay has to be centered and stay centered as you delicately lift it and shape it into a bowl or vase or whatever.  The problem Norma & I would have is sometimes we would start laughing over some story or person we were talking about and suddenly, in an instant, both partially-formed pots would go wonky and sometimes even flying off the wheel.  I still use the bowls and plates I made in those classes every day.

My first job in Willits, back in the 80’s was being the maintenance crew at Brooktrails Lodge along with Joe and with Bill Wilson, who eventually became the head of the City’s maintenance department.  We remained friends throughout Bill’s life until his all-too-soon passing suddenly.  Rosemary still managed the Lodge but it was in transition and eventually she lost it.  It was a favorite vacation destination for many people who would plan their yearly vacations there.

We met Verda Campbell there, who was a long time waitress but also raised horses on the ranch with her husband, Peck.  Joe and I would go to their ranch every spring to get horse manure.  At the Lodge, there was Don whose hair remained an unnatural jet black despite his age, and his wife Millie who worked in the kitchen.  All became friends like an extended family.

We met our beloved friends, Marilyn McNair and Jeanne Hargraves at the Lodge.  They played Bridge there on a regular basis.  Joe and I started a deck refinishing business called Deck Savers, after we left the Lodge.  Marilyn was our first customer and Jeanne our second.  We all became very close.  Jeanne like a second mother, Marilyn like a sassy, flippant older sister.  We went to Jeanne’s house for almost every holiday or birthday for dinner.  We often played poker together, for cash.  Jeanne’s mother was still alive at the time and was a shark of a poker player. 

I learned real estate from my still good friend, Lee Persico at Coldwell Banker.  Well into his 80’s, Lee is still at it.  I’ve met almost every old rancher in Willits through Lee.   His wife, Evelyn, taught me how to peal garlic.  I only made the mistake of talking about politics with Evelyn once!  She’s a champion canner and I always enjoyed the jam I got from her every Christmas.  Now I’ve become a pretty good canner myself and make way too much plum jam every year.  This year I’m going to grow jalapenos and make some nice “hot” jam.

When we first came to Willits the place to eat was Mom’s Place, which became the second location for Ardella’s which Kathy & Lorrie owned.  Now it’s the Cafe’ 77.  Mom’s Place was the most entertaining place it town.  Always crowded.  The most engrossing   aspect was that the waitresses always had an ongoing conversation, completely oblivious to who was listening, as they gossiped about the most intimate details of the lives of anybody who they had a bit of dirt on, while they worked the room.  After a meal at Mom’s you knew just about every salacious detail of the “life of the day” being discussed as they waited on tables, never stopping their very loud conversations.

One of my beloved friends is Emmy Good.  At 84 Emmy is still my yoga teacher.  She amazes me with what she can do!  Much more flexible than me.  Her stories about her first yoga teacher in Beverly Hills, who wore fishnet tights and had a very large bosom, are hysterical - especially when Emmy really does the unidentifiable accent.  Emmy is a prize-winning raconteur.  We can, and do, talk for hours with story after story.  So glad those conversations have never been recorded. 

I could go on and on about treasured friends.  So much gossip.  So much love and friendship.

Bill Barksdale was inducted into the 2016 Realtor® Hall of Fame, and served as Chair of the County of Mendocino Assessment Appeals Board settling property tax disputes between the County Assessor & citizens and businesses.  Read more of Bill’s columns on his blog at www.bbarksdale.com

They’re Playing Our Song

 

They’re Playing Our Song

 “Getting old is not for the faint of heart.”  My mother says this often.  She ought to know. She and her husband are both 100 years old.  They deal with many of the things you’d think two 100 year old people deal with.  They both use walkers but not wheel chairs.  They live in a 2 room managed-care condo with daily help and all meals prepared.  There’s a small lake outside their window and my Mother loves to sit and watch the geese & ducks swimming by, plucking & grooming.  For her it’s as good as TV. 

My stepdad likes to go to the weekly dances.  He loves life.  Goes out to play cards every day, various games and activities.  An old railroad man who handled timber shipping accounts, he can strike up a conversation with anyone.  I really admire how each day is a holiday for him it seems.  Having a good attitude seems to be an elixir for those who live long lives. 

They live in a nice assisted-living place.  Most assisted-living places have different levels of assistance based on the needs of the resident.  It can get pretty expensive, and for many people will likely take all their income plus some.  Savings, retirement accounts – if you have one - various government programs, insurance, Gi, etc. make up the rest.  Many people don’t have resources like these available.  There’s a great need for affordable, reasonable assistance for millions of older and disabled people.

The Cost of Living, is going way up.  Inflation is increasing much faster than most peoples’ income.  There’s that, and there’s the distribution of wealth in our nation’s economy.  The tax bill of 2018 that passed with only Republican votes gave a permanent tax reduction to corporations.  Regular taxpayers saw a temporary tax break but many of these tax cuts will expire in 2025 and around 65% of the population will have a sizable tax increase in the following couple of years, per Joseph E. Stiglitz 10-31-2020 in the New York Times. Resulting deficits could leave a hole of billions or trillions of dollars threatening Social Security & Medicare which most Americans rely on. 

In Willits, there’s not enough housing – period, but also very little affordable housing for the elderly & disable.  In fact, there’s not even enough such housing for people who could afford to buy something.  In areas where they have them, a rented 2-room elder condo with minimal care for two people often costs around $6,000.00 or more per month!  Can you afford that, especially when you’re old and not working?  There are other solutions to be found, more affordable ones.

Developing more housing depends, of necessity, on expanded water & distribution capacity, more street construction, expanded sewer capacity, energy & internet– all that stuff we depend on to live. Local development of needed housing and care for those in need starts in the community.  We can’t just say ‘costs go up faster than income and we just have to live with less’, leaving people homeless.  This is a dilemma that we have to create a solution for.  Everything starts with Planning.

Willits needs more housing for the elderly & disabled.  More housing needed for everyone, really.  Here’s part of the equation; ‘What are the people’s incomes in the area’ – then create housing that most people can afford.  People who are living in just regular housing today, will likely be wanting the more “senior” versions of housing and ways of living in the future.  Let’s just start planning it now!  Create apartments & condos, on large lots & small acreage that we can get infrastructure to.  The housing by the Senior Center is a start.

Local government – I request that you begin with Zoning.  Willits is a mishmash of dysfunctional zoning, it just grew that way.  But it doesn’t have to stay that way.  The tool of the General Plan is really a Vision Statement of how we want things to grow.  What would a better-planned, more convenient to live in, beautiful – Willits look like? 

Willits, like many places, has limited City staff and funds.  Only so much can be done at a time.  Things have to be prioritized.  That’s why a Plan is so important!  When you have a long term plan – say a ten-year plan – then each decision, everything you fix or expand or zone for, becomes a step toward that Vision, that Plan.  That’s how the tool of Planning works.  That’s how all goalsetting works. 

As my column title advises “They’re playing our song”, meaning, we’re all headed in that direction.  Nice elder-care housing could be ready in 3-4 years with the cooperation of City and builder/developers.  Good, creative planning can get us a place to live that is well-planned, well-built, safe and attractive.  The question of affordability comes up again.  There are ways.  We need to find them, and to create affordability with legislation & evaluation of resources.  It’s our future after all. 

In one episode of The Golden Girls, Sophia says “It costs money to get old.”  The price is not only a place to live, many people become “homeless” as they grow old for lack of funds.  The suicide rate of Americans 85 years or older is over 20%.  White males made up 69.38% in 2019 of suicides, per the Centers for Disease Control!  If you or anyone you know is thinking of suicide please call 1-800-273-8255 or 911, or call a trusted friend or family member.  Pause, and talk with someone, Please. 

Factors of growing old or disabled include: growing old in place (in your home with help), homelessness, health care, managed care, assisted living, food, lack of enough income, family assistance or lack of, mental health issues, loneliness, pets, affordable housing, failing health & pain, death of friends, discovering new interests, finding ways to be happy. 

As a Community we need to be talking about these issues, and finding solutions.  We can’t just ignore that this is happening.  Most of us will be dealing with at least some of these issues as we age.  Earlier I mentioned Planning, meaning primarily Municipal Planning by the City.  The pissing match between the County & the City about land has to end. The City must zone for needed housing development and facilities.  Fix the broken patchwork of zoning in Willits and create appropriate housing for our aging population. Expensive, inadequate housing on big lots is not the answer.  Selling land to the highest bidder for more industrial development in town is definitely not the answer.  Let’s get serious!

I don’t care what your age is, you will be needing this type of housing if you live long enough.  Get vocal.  Attend City Council meetings and ask that senior housing with various levels of care get in the plan.  It doesn’t have to all be care-type facilities.  It can be co-housing with sharing of some facilities, Condos above commercial space as one sees in many towns & cities, small houses on tiny lots with a common parking area.  These are all types of development that are being done right now all over the Country.  Believe me when I say – They’re playing our song, as we age and look toward what we need here.  If you want to stay in Willits, as I do, we need places to live that work for older and disabled people.  And while we’re at it, for everyone really. 

Bill Barksdale was inducted into the 2016 Realtor® Hall of Fame, and served as Chair of the County of Mendocino Assessment Appeals Board settling property tax disputes between the County Assessor & citizens and businesses.  Read more of Bill’s columns on his blog at www.bbarksdale.com

All That Jazz

 

All That Jazz

Bill Barksdale, Columnist

I’ve always been fascinated by what I call ‘life’s journey’.  Much of my reading is biography and autobiography – the stories of peoples’ lives.  Each life is a journey, a classroom really.  Each of us is growing, learning, changing.  Each of us makes choices – whether we choose to be aware of it or not, as to how our life journey will unfold.  Sometimes we may say to ourselves “I had no choice.  I had to…..”, but in reality – we are always making choices - this direction or that, every moment of our lives. 

One of the many things I love about Willits is the surprising number of interesting people I’ve known here.  All kinds of stories, enough to fill a library.  That’s one of the reasons I’m so fond of making theater.  Theater is really the ancient ritual of telling stories, passing from person-to-person what has been learned.

For example, here is a fascinating person I’ve met in Willits, although our paths literally crossed in New York City’s East Village many years ago in our youths.    I’m speaking of my friend, Linda Posner.  But she wasn’t called Linda Posner.  She was the dancer, singer, actress Leland Palmer.  I didn’t know Linda then.  I was a student at the Neighborhood Playhouse in midtown and Linda was starring in the off-Broadway hit musical, Your Own thing.  If you’ve ever seen the Bob Fosse movie All That Jazz, you’ve seen Leland Palmer.  Linda was kind enough to sit down and talk with me about her life recently.  Here’s some of that story:

“I always loved animals as a kid.  My life became about horses.  I finally got my first horse when I was 13.  I thought my career would be as a veterinarian.  When I was in high school I took a class in modern dance.  My father saw me do a high school performance and encourage me.  I began studying with Eugene Lorring at American School of Dance on Hollywood Blvd.  I did a number of shows in L.A.

My friend Michelle moved to New York City, I followed in 1963.  I was 23.  I rented an apartment and began taking 3 -4 classes a day.  I started studying acting with Gene Frankel and singing with Yul Brenner’s sister, Vera Brenner.  My first professional job was in the show Bajour.  The audition was interesting.  In typical Broadway fashion, we began in a big crowd, then people would get eliminated as the audition progressed along.  It got down to just two of us.  The other girl got chosen.  Three weeks later I got a call from Diretor & Choreographer, Peter Gennaro, “Could you do the show?” 

When I went to join Actor’s Equity, the actor’s union, there was already a Linda Palmer so I had to choose a different name.   My mother suggested Lee “but maybe they would think you were a boy”.  Linda added Lynn, that morphed into Leland.  Now she was Leland Palmer. 

Broadway choreographer and director, Michael Bennett was in the chorus of Bajour.  Chita Rivera was the star.  That’s when I met both of them.  The show ran for a while but not a huge hit.  Michael Bennet got a job directing & choreographing West Side Story in summer stock and asked me if I would play the character Anybody’s.  After that Michael asked me to assist him.  We would work out steps for auditions and I would help him cast shows. 

On Broadway I did Applause, Hello Dolly, Pippin for which I got nominate for a Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award, among others.  The first Tony Award I got nominated for was A Joyful Noise starring John Raitt.

A big break for me was the off-Broadway hit Your Own Thing in 1973, which I also did in L.A. and London.  A funny story about that.  In L.A. I was in the dressing room after the show we were taking off our makeup.  The Stage Manager knocked on the door and said “Leland, someone’s here to see you.” “Who”, I said.  “Rudolf Nureyev and Margo Fonteyn.”  I began to laugh and said “Like right!” thinking he was joking.   I looked in my make-up mirror and there they were standing in the doorway!

I worked with chorographer & Director Bob Fosse on several shows.  Whenever he did a show his wife, Broadway legend Gwen Verdon was always there, so I had met her.  When it came to casting the movie All That Jazz, I had retired.  The film’s writer later told me Bob had me in mind for the Gwen Verdon role.  Fosse’s assistant called me several times to offer me the role.  I turned it down, then Fosse called me himself.  “Just let me fly you to New York and meet with me.  That’s all I ask.”  I said “Bob, I don’t dance, I’m not singing.  I’m not interested in performing anymore”. 

I wasn’t in shape to take on a role like this.  Well, I did fly to New York and walked into his office wearing a long linen caftan & sandals and a flower-child hairdo.  He said “What happened to you!  I know.  You found God.”  He was right.   I wasn’t wanting to be performing again, but I took the part.  Let me say about Bob Fosse, He’s a genus.  Perhaps too sensitive.  Bob was a very, very complicated person.  All That Jazz is the story of his life. 

I’ve had a great career and am still having a great life.  I’ve had the privilege to work with some of the best actors, teachers, chorographers, directors, dancers.  I was very fortunate.  And now when people ask me “What’s been your favorite role?”, I answer ‘Being the mother to my daughter Pearl.’ “

Bill was a 2016 inductee into the Realtor® Hall of Fame, and served as Chair of the County of Mendocino Assessment Appeals Board settling tax disputes between the County Assessor and citizens & businesses.  707-489-2232