October 18th of 2023, was, and will always be, the worst day of my life. My family and I lost my middle son Robert Sterling, to what was deemed an accidental overdose of Fentanyl. His coroner report showed 10 times the lethal dose of this deadly drug, which is sweeping our country like an out-of-control wildfire.

Robert had been in a dedicated program of recovery for over 4 years and unfortunately had a relapse that would take his life. Robert was a local chef in Healdsburg and was passionate about world politics. He was looking into joining the World Central Kitchen to volunteer overseas helping in war torn Ukraine. Robert had plans, he had goals which will now remain forever unfulfilled.

The current Fentanyl epidemic raging across our country is taking at least 200 lives per day, each and every day.
Robert is one number, one drop in a sea of deaths, ours a family in a vast ocean of heartbroken families. He
mattered to me, he mattered to his brothers and sister. I cannot bring my son back so instead I am on a mission to spread awareness in his honor, to hopefully reach our youth before it is too late.

His face is currently on billboards in Sacramento and Stockton. He is also on a touring van called Angels Across America in the south of our country raising much needed awareness on this crisis. A brief glimpse to strangers driving past into our lives affected by this epidemic.

I will continue to reach out to educate others on this topic, as it is the top on my agenda to help with this very real problem. I can only hope that my efforts can save even one life, as I would not wish this pain onto another living soul or their families.

Please visit www.Robertsterlingfoundation.org for more information and resources on this important issue.
Follow my blog for daily posts on www.AGriefStory.com

Cooking With David
David Maciel
Sponsored by Ray’s Food Place

Lasagna Rollups

Lasagna rollups avare a perfect dish hot or cold. The ingredients can vary but what I have laid out is the foundation. I’m using a bottle pasta sauce but if you have a favorite recipe for home made, that’s even better. Cooked (fresh or frozen) Spinach can be used as a substitute to meat or in addition with the meat. This recipe serves six, or three if you are extra hungry
Ingredients
6 dry lasagna noodles
1 32 ounce jar pasta sauce or equivalent of homemade sauce
10 ounces ricotta cheese
16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
16 ounces grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 pound ground beef
1 pkg of Italian seasoning
Preheat oven to 375. Boil the lasagna noodle according to the directions on the box and cool in cold water. Mix all the cheese together, reserving 6 ounces of the mozzarella & parmesan, and fold in the egg salt & pepper and mix well. Cook the ground beef, pouring off all the grease, and mix the Italian seasoning in, and let cool.

On a flat working surface layout one noodle. Use a spoon to make a liberal layer of cheese mixture and top with meat pressing it into the cheese. Start at one end and roll forward, and set in an oven proof pan seam side down that has a ¼ cup of sauce spread in the bottom. Allow room around each rollup. Repeat until you are done. Pour the pasta sauce evenly over the rolls making sure they are covered well. Sprinkle the remaining two cheeses and more if you like cheesy pasta.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking for 10 minutes. The sauce should be bubbling at this point. Let stand for 15 minutes and serve.