Help Barry Rebuild After Losing Everything in LA Fire

In 2015, I moved into an old hunting cabin with Ben in the Santa Monica Mountains, renting it out from Barry McManus, a jazz musician and storyteller. Over the years, Barry went from landlord to friend to family. Last year, he finally left his shack on the mountain to move into a trailer on the coast so he could be closer to medical care. He packed up his instruments, his photos, and all his music, ready for an easier chapter in life.

And then, in January 2025, that trailer and everything in it burned to the ground. Barry didn't have insurance. He thought, on the coast, living in a parking lot, he was finally free from worrying about fires.

Barry turns 80 this May, and I'd like to give him that gift of ease, if only just a little. You know how it goes — even $5 helps. If you're an artist, you know the pain of losing files, manuscripts, hard copies, and he lost all of it. I'd like to make that loss a little lighter.