Séance confirms SaveKPFA's claim on the $400k
Report from a Séance:
where it was conclusively determined that a donor of $400,000 changed her wishes after her death, thus rendering the pre-death documents her last will and testament irrelevant
by Daniel Borgström
This year KPFA received two large bequests, which enabled the station to skip the summer fund drive. Well, nobody likes fund drives, and why bother, with the station suddenly awash in bequest money? Unfortunately, however, one of the directors ferreted out documents last month, revealing that KPFA was not named in one of those bequests.
The bequest listed $400,000 to be distributed to "Pacifica Foundation Radio," the network which consists of five stations, one of which is KPFA. So to whom should the money go? To the five-station network? Or to KPFA alone? What was the donor's intent?
This question resulted in anger, recriminations, and name calling -- which was totally unnecessary and avoidable. The obvious solution was to consult a professional who could ascertain the true wishes of the donor. Since that person has passed away, the appropriate professional to facilitate an interview would be an accredited medium.
I consulted Ms. Blavatsky, the great, great, great, great granddaughter of Madam Blavatsky, the 19th century occultist and spirit medium. Ms. Blavatsky lives right here in Berkeley and, like her ancestor, is well versed in all arts of the occult and is credited with having resolved many of history's greatest mysteries, including the true identity of "Jack the Ripper," the murderer of the two nephews of Richard III, as well as the assassin of JFK.
She asked Lee Harvey Oswald via seance how, despite being a questionable marksman, he was able to shoot with such phenomenal accuracy that day in Dallas. Oswald explained that he'd used magic bullets, as suspected by numerous independent investigators. Oswald explained that he didn't have to aim; he just pointed his rifle up in the air and fired three shots. The magic bullets whirled around, as magic bullets do, found their mark, and killed the president. Oswald himself had magical powers, which explains how he could be in several places at the same time. These findings validated some conclusions of the Warren Commission, which many people were unwilling to accept, prior to Ms. Blavatsky's inquiry.
The services of such a celebrated professional medium would normally be quite costly, but I got a senior discount.
Thick curtains were drawn across the windows, lights were turned off, and in the presence of several witnesses (who will swear to the truthfulness and factualness of the session), I prepared to interview the person who'd bequeathed the $400,000. I listened carefully. There was a faint creaking sound. A chill spread across the darkened room, and I felt the hair on my hands and arms standing on end.
"Hello?" I said. "Is that you? The donor of the $400,000?"
"I'm her secretary," came the reply in a wispy voice, barely a whisper. "The donor is not available. I'm authorized to speak on her behalf."
She explained that although her employer had written the check to "Pacifica Foundation Radio," she had, shortly after her death, reconsidered the matter, deciding that all of that money should go to KPFA.
The donor was overjoyed that the SaveKPFA people and station management had correctly interpreted her post-mortem wishes, appropriating the money for KPFA. She was delighted with the new carpeting at the station, bought with money she had bequeathed. She was also glad that her gift had enabled the station to skip the summer fund drive. "I hate fund drives!" she shouted in her wispy voice, pounding the table (I heard the gentle thud of her fist, as did the other witnesses in the room).
The voice seemed to have changed. "Could I have some clarification on who's speaking right now?" I asked. It crossed my mind that someone might be hacking the séance.
"I'm channeling her." It was the secretary's voice.
"Her? The donor, you mean?" I asked. I waited for an answer. Hearing none, I repeated my question. "You're channeling the donor?"
There was silence. For several very long minutes we just sat there in the darkness, nobody stirring. Then, just as I came to think the session was over, I heard a chair creak, followed by a very faint inaudible voice, but only for a moment. Silence again. More waiting. The connection seemed to be down.
Suddenly she was back. and sounding quite agitated. It had upset her terribly, she'd told me, that one of the directors had held that October inspection, looking into the documents, questioning the integrity of the SaveKPFA folks. "Those documents prove nothing!" she said, and told me once again of her final decision. "Why can't that nosy investigator respect the wishes of a dead person?"
"You mean the decision you made after your death?" I asked, just to be doubly sure.
"If you were listening," the voice scolded me, "you'd know my decision. And it isn't at all what the documents say! Forget the documents! They're irrelevant."
She was indignant that her post-mortem will and testament was being questioned, challenged. At that moment I think I actually saw her, a face beginning to materialize out of the darkness. An instant later she was gone.
The lights were turned back on, then the thick curtains opened and the bright daylight flooded into the room. I and the witnesses to the interview stood up and stretched our limbs. I felt terribly stiff, as though I'd been sitting there frozen in that position for hours. Only Ms. Blavatsky remained seated. She looked around the room, at everyone there, then finally at me. "Now go out quickly," she said. "Before you slip back into dementia, hurry and report this. Don't leave anything out!"
DANIEL BORGSTRÖM
November 20, 2015
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Does the $400,000 bequest belong to KPFA or to Pacifica?
“SaveKPFA” squanders $600,000
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for updates, reports & essays on KPFA/Pacifica, please visit these websites:
UNITED FOR COMMUNITY RADIO
PACIFICA IN EXILE
ANN GARRISON, A KPFA REPORTER
LORDS & LADIES vs. the PEASANTS at KPFA
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KPFA 94.1 FM is one of five stations of the Pacifica radio network which are located in major cities across the country. The other stations are WBAI 99.5 in New York, WPFW 89.3 in Washington DC, KPFT 90.1 in Houston, and KPFK 90.7 in Los Angeles. There are also about 160 affiliate stations.
