A man of music and comedy, Steven will be missed. Congratulations, Steve! You made it where you're going
Tonight I raise a glass and I invite you to join me in celebrating Steve's life.
He was a survivor of 9/11 as he had just arrived for work in the building across the street that morning when the first plane hit. I don't think he ever recovered and instead spent the rest of his life in seclusion with liquid medication. I don't know any details yet, but I think the 20th anniversary on Saturday may have simply been too much for him.
I had met Steve about 4 months prior to 9/11. He was my music mentor, an incredibly intelligent and funny man, a good husband, and a cherished friend. We worked together for three years and he and his wife had moved to Austin about the same time we did. The four of us each chipped in and bought a clay pot from an artist at a fair and we would take turns using it. We would prepare a dish in it and take it to their house. It would be left there and the next time they would prepare a dish and bring it back to our house. I remember Friendship Pot Meals so fondly.
Steven invented Misfit Thanksgiving. It was for all of our friends living in Austin who couldn't make it back home for Turkey day and sometimes had 20 or more people - all friends of friends - gathered around their small table. That's the kind of heart he had.
Stay free, Mista Steve.
