From Bennett's First Cousin Gail Yahya

He was very much loved and will be truly missed
Ben was very talented he had a gift
Rest in peace my beloved cousin

Gail yahya
 
 From Joel Schreck

To all,
 
Bennett's ex-wife was Cecily Floyd who was originally from Walnut Creek, CA, but she remarried and I do not know her married name.  I also notified Ken Clare and Jerry Skapof.  Yes Hank, I believe it was suicide; though he said little about it, his life was always filled with pain.
 
Love to all, and bless his everlasting soul.
 
Joel Schreck
joel@drshen.com

PS.  I wrote a poem for Ben while in high school.  Though I can't find the poem, I was suprised to find that I remembered every word:  I hope it's appropriate here.
 
Turkish nose, bananna lipped Benji
Small sultan of dreams
Who, when he woke, he cancelled out the winter with his eyes.
 
He loved the armies in his mind, and marched with them,
And touched a simple world of flowers.
 
Behind him always was me,
Limping in his image, unable to keep up.
 
"Follow me to the garden", he said dreaming of flowers, of women full of spaces.
 
Turkish nose bananna lipped Benji,
Small sultan of dreams,
Your kingdom is death,
Again I cannot follow.

Joel Schreck
joel@drshen.com

------------------------------------------------------

From Hank Schwartz

To all:

     Bennett was around in New York in the early 1970's and married a woman named Cecily.  They were together for several years as I remember.  She had a store selling custom upholstered goods somewhere downtown. I don't know her last name.  Does that ring a bell?  If she could be located she might know of next of kin.

     As an aside (and of course we'll never know and it's not really important),  Most people who go off bridges are committing suicide and the vast majority of those are intoxicated at the time of the jump.  In my view Bennett (who I cared about very much) very likely had a severe psychiatric disorder.  I think he was deteriorating in the last years before he disappeared.  That would be compatible with homelessness and increased risk for suicide.  Whatever - it's tragic that his life turned out this way 

Hank Schwartz (Mike's brother and a psychiatrist)