Dave is Betty Alice Erickson’s ex-husband. A 77 year old gentleman, who, by the way he’s driving his Infinity, doesn’t show his age. It all began with the book we’re translating: Milton H. Erickson. An American Healer, which will soon be out in Italian. In this book, Betty Alice, with the help of the legendary Bradford Keeney, carefully collects many never before published stories and pictures of the great Milton. The book also presents the journal of the famous canoe trip that Milton took when he was 19, and didn’t even have the strength to walk. But I’ll talk about that when we’re ready.
This book was what brought me to meet Betty Alice, who immediately put us in touch with Dave. Dave is a man of other times, with dozens of stories to tell. Many of these are about Milton, his father-in-law for over 25 years. 
Dave was an air-force pilot and, amongst many other stories, he tells one about leaving for Vietnam just after marrying Betty Alice. He remembers the day when Milton brought him to his studio and talked to his subconscious to prepare him for what he would have to do in the war, building in his mind the path which would get him back home safe and sound. Dave tells me of how he fixed his gaze on the corner of Milton’s desk to sink into a pleasant sleep where his mind learned that just this focus on the small tasks which make up the most complex procedures was the path that would bring him back to the place where that conversation was taking place. Each task, well-performed with the greatest attention, would be one step on the way back to his home and family. Each task, one step. And that’s how it was.
Dave tells how Milton could have been the harshest, most menacing man in the world, if only he had wanted to. One look was enough to express all his strength to you. And that’s an ex Air Force officer talking.
Dave takes us to Cypress Street, where at number 32 the house in which Milton lived until the early Seventies used to be. Today, it’s a quiet, sunny parking lot in the center of Phoenix. Dave tells us how that road used to be filled with pleasant little houses with gardens, just like Milton’s. Then along came an upstart entrepreneur who bought all the houses and the surrounding land, except Milton’s. He had no intention of leaving. All the houses were pulled down and, awaiting future constructions, a huge parking lot was built around Milton’s home. It’s still there today.
