RIP Steve Anderson

[Drunk Monk]

Steve is my iaido sensei and the person who got me involved with Rock Med, thus changing the course of my life.  He just went into hospice with pancreatic cancer.  I got the message from another old friend while in the middle of a JAH Med Board Retreat in Arcata.  Just got back a few minutes ago.  Now, again, I'm in a deluge of old friends expressing their grief.  

I haven't seen Steve since Dr. Skip's memorial (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=1085) so it's been over a decade.  I hope to see him soon, this week if I can manage.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I hope he had a good run and has a gentle passing surrounded by friends and family

[Drunk Monk]

Well damn.  I was planning to visit Steve after work.  Just missed him.

He left about half an hour ago. 

Arigato gozaimasu Sensei

[Greg]

Crap. You're going through a terrible patch. I wish there was a way I could help.

[Drunk Monk]

How it played out.

I was planning to leave work early and head up to Steve's.  He'd been released to his mom's home in SSF.  Just prior to lunch, I got a call from an old RM friend 'Oddjob' who was bedside with his family when he passed.  He was letting me know because he knew I was heading up soon.  I let my dojo mates know, but they were literally at the door of the home when they got the message.  They joined the others and said Steve looked 'beautiful, serene and at peace'.  He was surrounded by family and friends.  

I just learned he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just two weeks ago.  That was really quick, but as one of my dojo sensei said, it was merciful because pancreatic cancer is a painful way to go.  

I'm sad that I missed him.  I would've liked to tell him how much he meant to me and how much he influenced the course of my life.  Some other Rock Med friends visited him yesterday and they said they told him I was thinking of him and was coming soon, so there's some solace in that.

I'll see him in Valhalla for sure.  In fact, we'll all regroup there.  

Until that time...

[Drunk Monk]

Today was Steve's memorial at the Basque Cultural Center in SSF.  It was his fav locale.  The last time I was there was his wedding some 30 years ago.  I went up with two old sensei friends and one of their wives. One is local - we reconnected just prior to Man at Arms - he gave me a jam session to sharpen my cutting skills again.  The other was my kendo sensei from sjsu. She was a world champion and the daughter of the head sensei there, Prof. Hazard. We had not seen each other in maybe 30 years.  She married and divorced one of our Kung Fu brothers from Lam Kwoon, Owen. She is also active in steampunk and a friend of Tom Badillo from AFS circles, although he and I didn't overlap and really only know each other via facebook and mutual friends.  What's more, Kevin Saxton, the naginata demonstrator on Man at Arms in S2, was her student.  It was great to catch up. 

There was about 30-40 people there, mostly Rock Med, some family, some co-workers, and the four of us from Steve's dojo.  It was very sweet.

[Drunk Monk]

So when I posted about Steve's death, many of my circle thought I was posting about Steve 'Nasty' Anderson, a famous kickboxing champ from the 80s.  I never met that Steve.  He just died.

Along with Kobe and Nasty, Ip Ching died too.  He was the son of Ip Man, the teacher of Bruce Lee and subject of many movies now.  The reaper has been working overtime.