RIP Bliss Buys Cochran

Bliss in Sonoma County, 1982 trying to look corporate.

Bliss Buys Cochran through the ages. I felt it when Bliss passed. I awoke this morning, knowing she was no longer with us. No longer of this earth. The sensation was peaceful, as if she was finally at rest, and more importantly no longer suffering. This shining light, this compassionate rescuer of animals, and all wayward souls.

My deepest condolences to all her friends and to her family. I was blessed to have known her way back in the Sonoma County Stump days, 1979 to 1982. She gave me my first job in the alternative newspaper business because she believed in me, saw something worth cultivating. It surprised me when she said that I was a role model for her, because she was a role model for me. She said she admired my formidable intellect, my drive, and my willingness to get to the essence of things. 

We lost touch, after the Sonoma County Stump folded, we were all jobless. So Simone Wilson and I marched on down to The Paper and insisted they hire us, they were terribly surprised to see us because they were a rival newspaper, but they took us on anyway. Bliss sold ads for The Paper but it didn’t work out so well. Tom Richmond owed her money and didn’t want to pay up, so he fired her. He tried to fired us too, but to his chagrin, we refused to be fired.

And then Bliss later went onto what she appropriately described as the corporate soulessness of the Press Democrat to sell ads— complaining that she couldn’t even wear pants, she had to wear nylons, and this was in the late 1980s. Eventually she took over an antiques newspaper, which led her to Mendocino, and to Gualala, where she met her husband, sailor and musician Jim Cochran, and they sailed off to Mexico in a sailboat, where they settled in San Carlos, and lived for 16 years.

Jim Cochran said: March 17, 1989 was the day we met in  Petaluma, CA at the Irish Pub there. We split the last corned beef and cabbage dinner they had. We felt it was a lucky day for us. We timed all our big decisions for St. Pat's Day after that... and it worked. Right now, I just try to concentrate on what is right in front of me and deal with it. There will always be time for sorrow in the future..

Bliss Cochran, watercolor by Jim Cochran, 1991

Not only did they sing together, and produce an antiques guide for the western United States, but she also rescued animals from the streets of Sonora, rehabilitating, and finding homes for them. If there is a rainbow bridge, surely it is crowded and in danger of capsizing with all the animals that she rescued.

Bliss and I lost touch, but we found each other again on Facebook. And then out of the blue, we reconnected with each other a few years ago when I was reading for the Petaluma Poetry Walk. We spent a few days together at her son, Jay’s house in Petaluma, we drank a lot of wine and I collected some of her oral history, always expecting to go back and finish it. See my blog post. Bliss Buys remembers (oral history) Sonoma County

When I first heard the news that Bliss had a stroke, I literally could not sleep the entire night. I hadn’t heard from her on Facebook for a few days and I had a bad premonition so I went to her page and discovered that she had had a stroke, probably exacerbated by the cancer treatment. Something similar happened to my mother, the chemo gave her a heart attack.

In a perfect world I would have jumped on a plane and come visit. But I can’t. Teaching obligations, and no passport. I want to say to her son, Jay, thank you for being there. You were central to her universe, a shining star, even way back when during the Sonoma County Stump days. I remember seeing you, a small boy quietly playing in the Stump office. I need to stop now before I weep.

Bliss was a central figure in the back to the land movement, and lived at Morningstar, Wheeler Ranch, and Open Lands. She was a progressive thinker, like her Stump business partner Joe Leary, she was always looking at holistic alternatives to the watered-down Americana experience that was not meeting her needs. In 1992 she went to Cuba, something I didn’t know, otherwise, I would have interviewed her more on it. We kept thinking there was more time.

She was always asking when I was coming down San Carlos to visit her. I kept thinking, soon. Soon. But then, the pandemic. And now she’s gone, but she is still also with us as well. I am sure she is still playing in the band she founded, Angel Wings, playing to a full house on Cloud Nine.

Her hospital bills have been enormous, and there is a GoFundMe page. https://gofund.me/3b130367

Animal Rescuer Extraordinaire Now Needs Rescue

Bliss Cochran has lived in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico for sixteen years. Eleven years ago she took in her first rescue, a battle-scarred little dachshund found alone on a remote road. Since then she has worked closely with animal rescue organizations in San Carlos, Guaymas and Empalme, while fostering small breed dogs and puppies in her condo and raising donations for local animal rescue groups. A portion of her social security check paid for pet food, veterinarian expenses, and transport for animals to their new homes. Most of her San Carlos friends are people who either brought her homeless animals or adopted one of her fosters. She considers animal rescue the most meaningful work she has done in her life

A week ago, Bliss was diagnosed with rectal cancer. She was shocked and frightened but decided to go ahead with treatment, which will involve staying in a city two hours’ drive from home and receiving daily outpatient radiation and chemotherapy. The treatment is costly, and she does not have insurance. In addition to renting an AirBNB, she must pay out of pocket for all medical services, nursing, and medicine. After years of raising funds to save animals, she needs help herself.

Bliss begins therapy in four days. Although 80 years old, she has an excellent chance of recovery—the cure rate for this type of cancer is said to be about 90 percent. The hospital is one of the best in Northern Mexico, with great doctors, and she feels confident that all will be well, but she needs your assistance. There are still so many more animals in the community that need loving homes, and she just wants to get back to her passion of saving dogs and cats.

To see this page on Facebook with additional photos, go to: https://www.facebook.com/100063475633095/posts/658266872965828/