At some point in the 1980s, this somewhat crazy but well-meaning young woman named Friederike fell in love with my pal Duncan. She stalked him for many years, to no avail (Duncan didn’t want anything to do with her).
Then in 1986 she finally got her man. Duncan lost his home at the Berkeley Inn when the owner torched the building in an obvious case of arson. Friederike came to the rescue and invited him to move into her apartment. Which he did. And they ended up having a romantic relationship that went on for many years.
Friederike was also a very talented painter. This is one of her paintings titled “The Burning of the Berkeley Inn.” She painted it from a photo of her and Duncan sitting in front of the Berkeley Inn shortly after the fire. Duncan has all of his boxes of possessions behind him, as they’re waiting for a friend to drive by in their pick-up truck and take them back to Friederike’s place.
I suppose you could title this photo: “Friederike Gets Her Man.”
The Berkeley Inn fire, by the way, was an OBVIOUS case of arson by the owner of the building.
The first suspicious thing was that the fire started in a wing of the building that was blocked off and nobody even lived there. So they could never figure out how the fire started in the first place.
Then it turned, the fire only partially damaged the building. So there were plans to repair it and re-open it.
But wouldn’t you just know it?? A SECOND fire broke out. When nobody was even living in the building. And that completely torched the place. And, of course, the owner collected the insurance money.