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Board Member SEK has died


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I was just reading through Steve's posts and thought I'd post his response to the 1 artist/1 album thread. The man had good taste.

From SEK:

My first installment:

8 Bold Souls - "Last Option"

Art Ensemble Of Chicago - "People In Sorrow"

Paul Bley - "Axis"

Sonny Clark - "Leapin' and Lopin'"

Ornette Coleman - "This Is Our Music"

John Coltrane - "A Love Supreme"

Miles Davis - "Miles Smiles"

Eric Dolphy - "Out To Lunch"

Johnny Dyani - "Witchdoctor's Son"

Duke Ellington - "Far East Suite"

Chico Freeman - "Kings Of Mali"

Billy Harper - "Knowledge Of Self"

Andrew Hill - "Point Of Departure"

Elmo Hope - "Trio and Quartet"

Bobby Hutcherson - "Oblique"

Abdullah Ibrahim - "Matsidiso"

Steve Lacy - "School Days"

Charles Lloyd - "Canto"

John McLaughlin - "Extrapolation"

Jackie McLean - "Jacknife"

Charles Mingus - "Tijuana Moods"

Roscoe Mitchell - "Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancing Shoes"

Lee Morgan - "Search For The New Land"

Thelonious Monk - "Thelonious In Action"

Sonny Rollins - "Saxophone Colossus"

Archie Shepp - "The Magic of Juju"

Wayne Shorter - "Etcetera"

Bobo Stenson - "War Orphans"

Okay Temiz - "Chila-Chila"

Henry Threadgill - "You Know The Number"

McCoy Tyner - "Expansions"

Rest In Peace. Condolences to friends and family.

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Damn, I am sorry to hear that Chuck. :( I was wondering how he was doing, I recall him saying that the Cancer was getting worse, but since he had beaten it time and again(Something like 10+ years?) hoping we would see him posting again soon. My condolences to Steve's family, and friends.

I can't claim to call Steve a friend, but he went way out of his way to offer advice and ask how things were going after hearing my late Mother was diagnosed with Cancer. I though about this for awhile, but I saw that I did still have some PM's he sent back in 2003, and 2004, and thought I should share them. They show what he battled, and the kind of person he was. He was battling a terminal illness, yet still wanted to help others.....If people think I should delete the pm's, I will. Rest in peace Steve, you were and are an inspiration.

Another avenue..., Sep 4 2003, 09:30 PM

Hi Berigan,

The PM mechanism is usually my preferred way of communicating concerning personal matters, but your mother's situation has provided a rare opportunity for me to reach out to a larger group of people concerning issues that most people don't deal with unless/until it hits them where they live. I think that my posts on the public forum thus far have been general enough to be of use to almost anyone who reads it, as well being useful and supportive to you.

However, now that you've embarked on a course of action (and it appears to be as good a course as one can get, at this point in time), your concerns are likely to become more focussed, individual and personal. Please feel free to share with me via Personal Message any questions or concerns that arise during the course of your mother's treatment. You may even vent, rail at the universe or share the joy. I will do my best to reply thoughtfully from experience and from the heart.

I will, of course, continue to monitor your thread in the public forum.

All my best to you and your mother,

Steve (aka SEK)

The reply a few days later....

Re:Another avenue..., Sep 7 2003, 02:50 AM

Steve,

This is very nice of you! My Mom has still not started Chemo yet, she needs a port? I think it is called, to be put in her chest to go directly in the heart....then she can get Chemo....so many delays! How were your Chemo treatments?

Thanks,

Conrad, AKA Berigan.

Hi, Conrad!

I've never undergone chemotherapy. All of my tumors have been relatively "low grade" (grade 2) and they have been in my brain (which, due to the blood-brain barrier, require much more chemo than tumors elsewhere in the body to achieve an equivalent effect), and my doctors have never recommended chemotherapy to me as a first option. After my first surgery, I underwent a full course of radiation, followed by a period of "wait and see". My subsequent surgeries have come after long enough intervals so that, following each surgery, there's still been a worthy option of "wait and see". If my tumor were to spread to another part of my body (uncommon with primary brain tumors) or if a recurrence were inoperable or of a higher grade (both are the usual scenarios, but so far I've been very lucky...), then chemotherapy would be the main or only option.

Fortunately, chemotherapy can have fewer side effects and be more effective than it was even a decade ago. In fact, I know of a younger guy with a grade-3 brain tumor whose tumor is, for now, no longer visible, after several courses of a rather new chemotherapy protocol. His results are uncommon, but no longer unheard of. Furthermore, the main side effect he has from his almost continuous chemo regimen is a bit of fatigue, some loss of appetite, and dry skin. But he usually goes to work and still often gets to his pick-up basketball games. His results were nearly impossible not too long ago, and, given the relative ferocity of his tumor, he could be considered even luckier than me!

Your mother will probably have a harder time, but the side effects should be more manageable and the potential results significantly more hopeful than they once were. I like the idea of a port to the heart, because it facilitates a more direct route for the chemo to get to the places where it needs to do its work.

I see from your Organissimo posts that you get some distractions and maintain a sense of humor. A sense of humor is important almost all the time but is especially valuable when one can muster it during hard times.

Steve

Looking back, I should have bent his ear more, but probably didn't want to burden him, even though he sure did offer to help/listen....Last PM I got from him, at least that I saved....

Re:How are you doing?, Apr 1 2004, 04:44 PM

QUOTE

I hope things aren't too bad, all things considered. I still appreciate you offering an ear to hear some of my issues dealing with my Mom's Cancer. Probably should have taken you up on the offer. Everytime I thought about it, I thought I would end up writing a very long winded PM, and decided against it.

She is still hanging in there. Off Chemo for awhile, now back on it. One Tumor started to grow again, while the other one shrank!

Take care,

Conrad.

Hi, Conrad!

It's very good to get your PM. I've been wondering how your mom has been doing and how you've been dealing with it. I thought that, perhaps because I've never undergone chemotherapy, you did not find it useful to stay in contact with me via PM. I do expect very long-winded PMs as part of the struggle. Feel free to "bend my ear" in the future.

I'm extremely pleased to read that your mom is still around and that the chemo has been, at least, partially successful. I hope that she is comfortable and her life continues to be meaningful. I so appreciated your very thoughtful response to Ghost about his mother (in fact, you "stole my thunder"); so, I know that you try to take full advantage of your mother's continuity.

I am doing okay. My next MRI and checkup are scheduled in June. It has gotten harder for me to get out and around, but my wife and friends, the music, my cat and dog, the internet, cooking, and various household chores keep me busy and sustained.

It's been great to see that your mother's plight has not robbed you of your feistiness and sense of humor. It's also great to see the days getting longer and warmer here; we've been at the receiving end of the most traditional "Michigan winter" in about a decade (very frigid and gray, with *lots* of snow).

I hope that things improve for your mother and that you continue to do well. Please feel free to send me a PM whenever and whatever.

Take good care,

Steve

Edited by BERIGAN
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Conrad, thanks for posting those pm's.

I can't say I remember his postings all that well. I did a search and found that he last posted in December of 2005. Besides his great taste in music as others have noted, I was struck by the sheer positive energy that was expressed in his posts. Also, while I rarely read the "Happy Birthday" threads I see that he never missed a chance to send good wishes to all of the celebrants. He seems to have been a really good, kind person.

Condolences to his family and friends.

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