Howard and I are enjoying a long friendship, now, with a lot more. I came to Grass Valley back in 1979, and as soon as I met Howard and Peggy, I wanted to be a valued family friend. I was granted that opportunity and I lived in the Apartment for about three and a half years, before the need to have a real job drove me to New York and Seattle. Even though I was far away, I worked to maintain the friendship with regular calls and visits with them and the kids. When Peggy became fatally ill, I came to be with the family. After that, I kept offering to come visit Howard, but we couldn’t settle on a date. Finally I realized I was asking the wrong question, not “when do you want me to come?,” but, “May 5 or May 12? Which one works for you?” In the meantime, I’d been thinking about retiring in the next 2-3 years and realizing that it was time to leave Seattle; Sacramento was one of my top choices as a a retirement city. I told Mara, as she chauffeured me up to Grass Valley that weekend. Over dinner, she announced, “Posy is going to move to Sacramento!” Without missing a beat, Howard said, “no, she should move here, with me.” I laughed. Later that night, as he and I talked, a typical affectionate Howard hug, suddenly expanded into new territory, beyond “friends.” Later, he said, “I can’t stand the idea of you in Sacramento, I want you here with me.” I said, “Wow, that’s quite an offer! I’m on a 2-3 year timeline, so we can figure out what our relationship might be.” A day or so later, back in Seattle, Howard called me and said, “No, at our age 2 years is too long.” I said, “You are right!” Another friend happened to call right after that, when I related the events and my fears that I would screw it up, my friend Joelle said, “Posy, as long as I have known you, you have been someone who wants to live with ‘arms wide open.’ This is it: this is your arms wide open opportunity. I said, “You are right!” I jumped … arms wide open and am soaring still.

I can’t say I just met Posy. Posy has been somewhere close a great deal of my life. We met as teenagers through a common friend when I first decided to be an artist. I didn’t really know her but we look back and we knew much of the same history. Posy left us for New York to become an executive. When she came back from New York for visits she was this glowing person. Bright clothes, glasses and a sparkling smile, as I remember, always. Her regular phone check-ins, the trips to Grass Valley for major family events keeping us all intact as an extended-family; Posy and Barry, Greg and Alexis’ and Peggy and i. When Peggy got sick, Posy was on the phone and on the plane as great support to all of us. When it got dire, Posy did what a close family member would do – she was present – physically to help us deal with life and death. When that happened Posy help hold us together. After that, Posy kept in-touch with me and our family (as she relates in her message) and trying to make sure I was managing. I have always been fond of Posy, which is not a secret. When she came to check on me, I thought it would great to see her. And when she did finally visit and Mara said “Posy was moving back to Sacramento” I just burst out with wanting her to be here in Grass Valley. There was no prior idea that this was a possibility. The concept that Posy was looking for a new location was not part of our conversation. After that meeting that she would consider being my partner. It was amazing! After we started talking about the idea I realized how deeply I was in love with her. Even though I knew her forty years, I did not know her as well as I had thought . I learned so many new things about her. Outdoors experiences, common interest and likes in food, joy of art (I knew). I did not know how she could motivate people, especially me. Visiting her in Seattle was great and when I met so many people who truly loved her I knew…..this woman was truly the perfect ONE for me.