In fall 2021, his parents passed within months of each other. Devout Catholics, they weren’t afraid—his mom went while cutting flowers she wasn’t supposed to, his dad slipped in slippers his sister Gibby gave him. After their passing, he took a long ride to the Geysers, trying to process his grief. When he crashed, he waited for help—only to be rescued by a father and son, the elder struggling with dementia. Back in Petaluma, battered but reflective, he saw it not as coincidence, but a sign from his parents.