My brothers accused me of assault - one formally. In the affadavit requesting a restraining order he elaborated a fiction of bruising on his ribs where they say I kicked him.

They had me. They had Mom. With POA and lies, they kept me from seeing her at the hospital, even though I was the only one trying to take care of her. I was afraid. On the advice of court-appointed counsel, I pleaded down to harrassment. My brothers would use this as evidence of extreme violence to get me evicted. Counsel did not advise me of that possibility.

They sent me to jail in a worn and paint-spattered leather jacket that I'd bought second-hand in Cork Ireland a whle earlier, and an enormous pair of shoes that had appeared at Mom's house a few days prior.

After a long (Dr. MLK Jr) weekend, county released me at sundown as the high-desert air began to freeze. I had to start walking. It was about 16 miles to Mom's house, where I lived and had nowhere else to go.

I stuffed court documents into the shoes to take up the excess space.

I walked most of way, got a ride in a vintage F150, crawled in under the old garage door I'd left open to fit a hose underneath, and got back to my kitty who was scared.