Back in July 2023 I wrote a Floating Times piece about Forbes Kiddoo and his fantasy isle which floated in Richardson’s Bay in the 80s. While researching that piece, I came across a Facebook post from the Veterans Home in Barstow that looked like an obituary for the eccentric Forbes, who was building concrete hulls for floating homes when he crafted a 700-ton barge with waterfalls, palm trees and sandy beaches in 1980.
My column recounted how the manmade island had been moved to Pier 39 from 1999 to 2016, eventually ending up in the Delta. It erroneously stated that Forbes had passed away at age 81. A friend of his sent a copy of the article to Forbes, who wrote back: “ My passing has been grossly exaggerated.”
So, I called Forbes, who has moved to the Veteran’s Home in Yountville, to apologize. He told me he was doing fine: “It’s like a little country club up here.”
I’ve never been so pleased to be proven wrong.