Lane von Herzen: Update: My Husband's Retrieval of Mail, April 2, 2023

My Third Novel's Conclusion, My Heartbreak

My heart begins to break when I think about completing this particular book -- because this narrative has sustained me like no other story I've known. It's both more personal and more universal than my other works. But beyond memory and archetype, it's a cri-de-coeur about needing to become the person one is destined to be. And in the writing, I have met my own life's work, my own fated journey -- having the sense all the while that the pages are suffused with a resonance, an energy, an electrified field that defies explanation. Writers hope and pray to be overtaken by a work in this way -- to be conscripted into passionate service of a profound story. To experience it even once in a lifetime seems a great privilege. I still have several months before this novel is complete, and this constitutes my reprieve. Because I'm not ready for the beauty to end.

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Update: My Husband's Retrieval of Mail, April 2, 2023

Update:

Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 3:30 PM

OIG Hotline investigators, this is to document that, at 3:30 PM this afternoon, my husband Ken MacWilliams filmed the seal on our mailbox prior to removing it, opened the box with a key, removed acceptable mail while filming this process, verified that Jim Mellano's letter, unretrieved and unopened, is still in place beneath two heavy books, replaced the alarm within the mailbox, and once again closed the lock with a security seal.

I hereby certify that the foregoing its true and correct.

Lane MacWilliams

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OIG Hotline investigators, this is to document that my husband Ken MacWilliams will soon retrieve acceptable mail from our locked mailbox at Vista Verde Way, Portola Valley, CA.

He will use a body cam, as he did last week, to film the entire process of his handling each piece of mail that we accept. The ownership of this camera and its micro SD card have already been conveyed to the OIG Hotline Investigations Division.

He will not retrieve or open the letter from Jim Mellano of AFE, but rather, will leave it in place. To confirm, ownership of the Jim Mellano/AFE letter has been transferred to the OIG Hotline Investigations Division and will be provided to them directly as soon as they request it.

My husband will affix a new security seal to the lock on the box when he has completed his retrieval of accepted mail.

I will check back here shortly to provide an update.

For clarity, neither Ken nor I have opened the mailbox since Ken's retrieval of acceptable mail approximately two weeks ago.

We hope that the security measures we have taken -- that of the security seal, and the presence of lights and an alarm, will have been sufficient to prevent tampering with our mailbox in the interim.

Again, we hope that Jim Mellano has been honest in his characterization of the contents of the AFE letter as a simple, unaltered 1099 form.

However, because Jim Mellano has lied in writing in the past, we are taking all precautions to ensure our family's security, as well as to preserve any material that could possibly assist OIG Hotline investigators in their inquiry into falsified law enforcement reporting for anti-democratic objectives.

Whether Jim Mellano's actions in sending a letter against my express directives were intended to alarm me -- and discredit me in that process -- or whether they were intended to further a plan of falsified law enforcement reporting against my family or myself -- it seems wise to me to exercise great caution and care in this circumstance.

I hereby certify that the foregoing is true and correct.