I got to spend a good part of today with Kieran. We met in Auburn and then drove over to the Foresthill bridge, a place I have not been before. It’s the tallest bridge in California, and one Vin Diesel famously drove off of in the movie xXx. We walked across it, hiked around it and drove almost underneath it. Next was lunch at a local grill, which had excellent onion rings but the barbecue was so-so. I did have fried okra for the first time, it was pretty good. We caught up about his work, what he’s been doing around his house, fixing his car and working on his ATV.
On my drive up to Auburn I talked with a friend who is going through really hard time dealing with a family member who has a mental illness. It is so hard to hear about what she’s been going through and the spiraling impact his actions have had on the rest of the family. She’s been trying to see if there’s anything she could do to prevent things from getting worse knowing that upcoming family changes are likely to create more problems, but there doesn’t seem to be any support outside of medication. It’s deplorable that so little help is available for those living with mental illness even those who can afford to pay.