Finding Leah - January 18th, 2006

RAI has launched a new television program with the translated title; The train of wishes.
One google search later and I've got a telephone number scrawled on the pile of scrap paper near my phone, which is what I call to express my wish.
I don't believe I would've noticed that the RAI was airing this program, if it hadn't been for the TV advert, which has Antonella Clerici, Pippo's LEAST favorite Italian Television Show 'presentatrice', giving a brief introduction to the show.
Sometimes I feel impelled to watch what Antonella says, because it fascinates me that she irritates Pippo so much. She IS somewhat irritating- she has an overly enthusiastic squeaky voice popping out from under her goldilocks hairdo, she's plumpish AND wears INCREDIBLY unflattering attire (truly hideous) for her figure, bright red or yellow sequinned tight busted dresses with huge poofy plumed lower halved short skirts orbitting atop her stubby thick calves.
Not everyone knows that in Italy, people who host TV shows ( fifteen or so in number) seasonally change shows. Basically there is something in the RAI that is organized like a musical chairs game. You might not sit in the chair you sat last season, but no matter, finding a chair to sit in is the point, not which chair. Antonella is definitly part of the RAI seat switching club. The program she's hosted the longest was a very obnoxious (how I wish the word obnoxious had an appropriate translation in Italian!) morning cooking show. Pippo seeing her image pop into his despised mornings could well have influenced his passionate detesting of Antonella.
Last year Ms. Clerici also hosted Festival di San Remo, Italy's annual terrible music awards. I think that's when her dresses truly began to appear TOO HORRIBLE.
The T of Ds show is sort of a mutated inherited version of past similiar shows.

This is my desire; I've always wanted to see Pippo perform in the role of a bicycling post messenger on another program, C'e Posta per Te. There are problems with this wish though, because C'e Posta runs on the Mediaset channels, not the RAI.
I also want him to sing me a serious song, from beginning to end, not falsetting his voice, and not while playing an instrument. It's what I wanted from him last year for my birthday, and he promised!
Now I want him to do this backed up by a television orchestra and wearing a suit and tie and shiny shoes, because I've never seen him wear any of those items.
Will it take Antonella Clerici to insist?

Sherm sent me a link to a website, and one of the messages posted to a forum, offered to help people who might be able to use their universal pass with ancestors.com, so I wrote the person, they wrote me back, and now I've written them again;

Dear Elwebst,
it was very kind and generous of you to help me in my ongoing search for Leah Mcfarland. In fact, you helped me a lot, because the birth record of Leah M.Mcfarland born 19th of June 1964, IS the Leah I'm looking for.
Through a search of a registered marriage index in California I found that
Donna Ibbotson (her mother) married Bill Mcfarland ( the marriage was recorded once under BILL and once under WILLIAM) at the age of 19 in Los Angeles County, CA. Her father, Bill Mcfarland was 26 years old when they married June 20th 1961.
I don't know when they divorced, but I know that they did and that Donna Ibbotson Mcfarland remarried a guy surnamed Weber and that Weber, wife Donna and Leah moved to Modesto, CA.

I saw that there is a Leah M Mcfarland in NM in Ancestor.com's registry. Her middle name is Michelle, if that's relevant at all. Is there ANY more research you can help me with on this?

I don't want to be annoying plummetting you with requests, but REALLY I appreciate ANY more help you might be able to provide me in my quest to find Leah.
I believe that she has an unlisted telephone number in Rio Rancho, NM but I don't have a street address for her there. The Leah M Mcfarland in NM, once lived in Los Alamitos, CA as did Bill and Donna her parents. I believe as well that there is a death record for her father, Bill Mcfarland, who committed suicide at the age of 41 (1975 or 76) in CA and *probably* in LA County.
I haven't seen or spoken to Leah in 30 years. We were just kids when her Dad died, me around 15 and her 12. Her Mom wanted to distance us because I'd been very good friends with her Dad, and when he killed himself, I think the Mom wanted to protect Leah emotionally from people that might remind her of her father. Leah and her father were very close, and now, 30 years hence, I believe that I might be one of the only of Leah's peers that remembers her Dad lovingly.
This message IS NOT a joke, hoax, or scam. I named my blog in livejournal.com 'Finding Leah' because I'm absolutely sincere in wishing to locate her and thought that my blog might serve as a forum for people with greater skills and resources than I have alone, to help me. I currently live in Rome, Italy and doing this at a distance and through the internet hasn't been easy for me, what with my limited computer expertise and all.
Anyway, long and short of this message is, you've been a big help, I'd appreciate any more help you can provide using your ancestor.com pass, but I don't want to annoy you!

As underblog once wrote, his blog IS called underblog RIDES again, when one reader lamented his not infrequent motorcycling posts..
Well this blog IS called FINDING LEAH and so, despite the fact that I recently posted another almost identical entry of a letter I'm including this one too which I posted onto 2 message boards in Ancestry.com where I'm NOT a member.

subject title -Generous souls

For many MANY years I've been trying to find a woman named Leah Michele Mcfarland. She was the only daughter of Bill Mcfarland and Donna Ibbotson that were married in Los Angeles County June 20th 1961. Leah was born June 19th 1964. I believe she might be living in Rio Rancho NM but has an unlisted phone number and I don't have a street address for her.
Bill and Donna divorced sometime before 1975 and Donna remarried a guy surnamed Weber, she and husband Weber and Leah were living in Modesto Ca. in the early>mid seventies..
Bill committed suicide in 1975 or 76 or 77 in S. Ca. Previous to that he'd been employed with Hugh's Airwest and lived on Encinal Canyon Rd. in Malibu.
When Bill and Donna were married they lived in Los Alamitos,CA. Bill had several brothers.
Can anyone help me find a listing of Bill's death? Or a listing of his or Donna's birth? or their divorce? or her remarriage? SS#s? What I'm looking for MOST OF ALL is where is Leah Michelle Mcfarland today. I have seen or spoken w/her in over 30 years, but I may be the only peer of hers that knew and loved her father.
ANY help in my finding her quest would be most heartily appreciated, thanks, Heather Webster
Rome, Italy

I'm just feeling blog self indulgent today.
I wrote the LJ people to see if they can tell me which styles are available that permit my blog face to have a list of blog links and how do I get the capabilitiy of filing entries under themes.
It's such a cold rainy grey day here, that I didn't bother to change out of my pajamas and house clogs when I took out with the garbage and walked up the street to a bar for a cappucino.

I have Leah on my mind.. I now know when and where she was born, when and where her parents married, how old they were when they married, that the young family once lived in Los Alamitos, CA and that M is definitly her middle initial. I know that Bill was 41 years old when he died.
I'm waiting/hoping that someone kind and generous and helpful will respond back to me with help they offer using their people search skills and programs.

My brother brought up the possibility that Leah may not be hot at all, on seeing or hearing from ME after 30 years...

Leah is most likely presently living in Rio Rancho, a town outside ABQ. She had lived in ABQ at several addresses. She has almost always used her middle initial to distinguish herself from other Leah McFarlands.

It occurs to me that it is not unlikely so many failed attempts in my quest to find her, are tiresome to blog readers, readers that never met her and/or never knew her Dad. Oh well. It is MY quest after all.

My NY bro gave me a snapshot of Leah posing with her Dad in Disneyland during a trip we took there in the early 70s, last time I visited him in NY.

All my "incredible collection of love letters" that Bill wrote me are gone. 11 or 12 years ago I was stupid and let a friend convince me I should get rid of them. The friend's philosophy and MANY people maintain this philosophy, was IF you have emotionally packed memories from the past, block out the thoughts of the past, get rid of any evidence of what may stimulate your feelings, Don't talk about it, don't look there..

When Gillian and I were living in another neighborhood, Trastevere, the man who had sold me cigarettes almost daily when I'd lived in my previous address, point blank shot dead, my friend's babysitter's roomate, at the gelato shop she worked at around the corner from our apartment. First time I ever knew both the victim and perpetrator of a homicide. I couldn't help but read the ensuing newspaper reports of the murder. Angered that the Italian press classified the murder as a love crime, I recounted the story to another friend. He said, don't talk about it, don't look there, as if talking about anything difficult or ugly or cruel creates bad kooties.

The reason I mention this is YES, some people do believe in bad kooties, or come from the Better to not delve school of emotionally painful circumstance or history. Actually this school is to credit for my Finding Leah quest in the first place.
Her mother, Donna Ibbitson (sp.Ibbotson?) Mcfarland Weber wanted to protect 12 year old Leah from reminders of her Dad, after he'd shot himself in the head. Me, at the time recently turned 15 (like Gil Beans!) I was considered to be just such a type of reminder, and so her mother forbid Leah and I to contact one another.

Thirty years, I hope, is a long enough time to grow a bit. Atleast, it's long enough to have had the possibility to grow whether or not people have made personal decisions to do so or not.

Maybe, Leah would like to know someone who knew her Dad, as she did, as a child. He was an amazing man. VERY smart, VERY funny, VERY talented,
VERY wild, VERY articulate, VERY spontaneous, and VERY VERY loving. He ADORED Leah. Leah was his greatest joy in life.

Maybe the pain of suffering the loss of him because of his suicide, would overwhelm Leah's curiousity or willingness to face people that loved him.
When I find her, I don't plan on being pushy... I just want to say, I'm here, I've been looking for you, and I've wanted to know you. I'm sorry that our friendship became restricted when we were so young, your father was a fine man, and of course, his suicide wasn't our fault.

I don't have to see her, though I'd like to meet her. I could write my say easily enough in a letter, if she doesn't want to meet me. But I'd like her to know that she CAN see me, or talk to me if she wants to.

I'm going to find Leah, and I'm going to cry when I do. I'd like to bring her some flowers.