Wickersham's Conscience

As WC gets older, he finds death is claiming more and more of those he respects and admires. As we head in to a new year, WC wants to pause and note the loss of those who in one way or another, enriched WC’s life. In no particular order:

Ronnie Gaubert, Self-Portrait	Ronnie Gaubert: WC posted earlier on Ronnie’s work and life. A remarkable artist and man, and a model for us all. WC misses him.
Vàclev Havel, 1936-2011	Vàclev Havel: WC studied one of Havel’s plays, The Garden Party, when WC was an undergraduate student. It was a brilliant send-up of Soviet society, sort of Mikhail Bulgakov meets Albert Camus. The play earned Havel his first prison term.Havel emerged as an unlikely non-violent political leader in the Velvet Revolution that overthrew the communist rule in Czechoslovakia, and in 1989 became the president of the country.
Cover of Steve Jobs Bio	Steve Jobs: WC has posted earlier on Steve. But will repeat here Steve’s words on death: Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, 1935-2011	Geraldine Ferraro, U.S. Representative and first woman to be a candidate for Vice President of the United States for a major political party. She was also a successful prosecutor, tireless advocate for the protection of women and children and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. If Sarah Palin had an exact opposite, it was Ferraro.
Christopher Hitchens Lecturing	Christopher Hitchens: WC has posted on Hitch. Twice. Once on his death and against focusing on his Ten Commandments. An extraordinary man, and extraordinary life and an extraordinary body of work.
Jerry Lieber, 1933-2011	Jerry Lieber, the lyrics half the the songwriting duo, Lieber and Stoller. His songs included “There Goes My Baby,” Stand By Me” and “Hound Dog.” A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987), his lyrics and Mike Stoller’s melodies got in your head and stayed there. If the sky that we look upon Should tumble and fall And the mountains should crumble to the sea I won’t cry, I won’t cry, no I won’t shed a tear Just as long as you stand, stand by me
Clarence "Big Man" Clemons, 1942-2011	Clarence “Big Man” Clemons, tenor saxophonist in the E Street Band, and the heart of Bruce Springsteen’s band. His tearing sax solos helped define Bruce Springsteen’s music. Born to be wild, indeed.
Angie Ertter, 1924-2011	Angela Ertter, German war bride, godmother to Mrs. WC, mean harmonica player (she’s playing the harp in that photo) and unrepentant singer of German folksongs. Her family was everyone Oma could hug. And her love could fill a big room.

Others WC might name include James Arness,  whose television show “Gunsmoke” was one of the few televisions shows WC could stand when WC was a pup; and Gerrie Rafferty, whose “Baker Street” would be on WC’s list of all-time top ten rock and roll songs.

Correction: 26 Dec 11 – As reader Paul Eaglin points out, Geraldine Ferraro was a member of the U.S. House, not the Senate. Corrected.

Gentoo Penguin with Chick

WC’s photo of an adult Gentoo Penguin with a chick is usually interpreted as mom and kid; in fact, this adult is large enough to be the male, although Gentoos are famously difficult to tell apart. But it is known that the parents share equally in rearing the chicks, exchanging nest duties daily.

WC chooses to interpret this as a male adult. So Happy Father’s Day to all fathers who are readers and readers whose fathers are still around.

This is the first of a three part post on WC’s long adventure with the Alaska criminal justice system in State of Alaska v. Meghan Simon. It’s a story with an ugly beginning, very serious crimes, protracted delay and no closure. It’s also a serious criticism of the system.

How WC Hired Meghan Simon

Like a lot of folks WC’s age, WC for more than a decade dealt with a parent’s declining health. WC’s mother, widowed in 1989, moved to MLH Manor shortly after it opened. The initial promise of appropriate levels of support as residents aged never panned out. It became what it is today: tax-subsidized housing for the elderly.

By 2002, it was apparent that WC’s mother was going to need more support than WC and Mrs. WC could provide. WC’s mother was adamant that she would not move to the Pioneer’s Home. Happily, WC stumbled upon a very capable young woman to serve as a home health aide, and from 2003 through the end of 2008, WC could leave town for more than a day without undue worry. But in December 2008, that capable young woman announced she was pregnant, and would be staying home. She gave WC two months’ notice. And WC struggled to find a replacement.

At the time, there was not a centralized clearinghouse for finding home health aides. Grants had expired, persons had left, and there was a vacuum. WC was provided with a faded, two-page, single line list of possible home health aides. The kind that has been photocopied so many times that the page is all pastel grays. And there was no one on that list – WC attempted to contact everyone of them – who could provide the level of service WC’s mother needed. At least none who didn’t have criminal records, or domestic violence complaints against them.

WC has lived in Fairbanks most of his life, and has extensive connections. But none of those connections was able to provide a name. WC assumed the role beginning in January, but it was simply not possible to do it indefinitely. And WC had an extended trip planned in February. Travel insurance would not cover cancellation.

And then WC was contacted by a public health nurse, who said she knew of an unlicensed woman who was providing support to another of the public health nurse’s patients. Her name was Meghan Simon, and she would be willing to take on another patient. It wasn’t a recommendation. WC wants to be clear: this is not a criticism of the public health nurse. She provided helpful facts.

WC interviewed Meghan Simon. Simon appeared to a be a 40-year old woman trying to appear 20-years old. But that’s hardly a reason to reject a person. WC obtained the information to do a background search: review of records in Alaska Courtview, a credit check, a bankruptcy court check. WC wouldn’t have made her a large loan, but there was nothing otherwise. WC set up a meeting between himself, WC’s mother and Meghan Simon. It went okay; not great, but then WC’s mother, even before the onset of Alzheimer’s Syndrome, was a difficult person.

So Meghan Simon was employed to work 20 hours per week, at a rate that was half again what her predecessor had been paid. Bills were to be submitted to WC; WC’s mother regularly forgot to pay bills. And WC wanted to keep an eye on what was going on. After two weeks, it seemed to be working okay. WC’s mother had complaints, but they centered on being made to eat healthier food.

So WC and Mrs. WC headed off on their trip, out of the country and out of communications for three weeks. There was no cell phone service in the Amazon basin.

What Meghan Simon Did

On his return, WC found numerous messages on his answering machine: from the public health nurse, suggesting WC should terminate Meghan Simon immediately; from MLH Manor’s manager, complaining about Meghan Simon; from WC’s mother, complaining forcefully about Meghan Simon; and from Meghan Simon.

What had apparently happened was that the son of Meghan Simon’s other patient had beaten the living snot out of Simon. There were cross-domestic violence complaints. Simon, without anyone’s permission, had brought strange men to MLH Manor to care for WC’s mother while Simon was injured.

WC set out to find a new home health aide. But, after a long and difficult meeting with Simon, allowed her to stay on in the meantime.

Access Alaska had been awarded a grant to take up the abandoned task of coordinating home health aides. And they gave WC an appointment for March 25, 2009. There was a lot of pent-up demand, WC was told, and they couldn’t get WC in sooner.

WC visited his mother on the evening of March 22, 2009. There was nothing remarkable about the visit. WC’s mother complained about the usual things, and like many Alzheimer’s victims, voiced the same complaints multiple times. There was fresh food in the fridge; the apartment was clean. We talked about getting a new home health aide, or whether she wanted to move into the Pioneer’s Home. She was emphatic; she wanted to stay where she was.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at 10:11AM, WC had a call at work from the MLH Building Manager. They were worried. There were two newspapers in front of the apartment door. That wasn’t usual. Could WC come over?

By the time WC got there, ten minutes later, so had Meghan Simon, the City Police and the City Ambulance. Simon had gone in to the apartment, found WC’s mother dead, and gone into hysterics.

The police and the ambulance personnel were professional and polite. But one of the police officers took WC aside and said that Simon’s reaction was far too strong to be normal; he suspected she was on drugs. After WC’s mother’s body had been removed to a funeral home, WC set out to secure the apartment. WC asked Simon for her keys, and got them. WC picked up his mother’s purse and noticed immediately that the checkbook was missing. WC’s mother had been on the far side of absent-minded; WC asked Simon if she knew where the checkbook was. The look of guilt that flashed across Simon’s face would have been obvious to  third grader, let alone a cynical lawyer. WC knew at that point that money had been stolen. The only question was how much.

Continued in Part 2

I am blessed to have married into a large, close family. One of my wife’s nieces married on Thanksgiving, and in addition to a charming, delightful wedding, it was an extended family reunion among the nicest people you could hope to have as in-laws.

The ceremony was conducted by the bride’s younger sister, who apparently wrote the vows herself (“You may now kiss my sister”). The entire event was a delight and a treasure.

Thanks, Hailey and Justin, for reminding me of the blessings I have. And my warmest congratulations and very best wishes to you both.