[Harp-L] Re: Michael Polesky

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Dear David,
 
Thank you for letting us know. I'm just devastated, thinking he  had more 
time and am sitting here flooded with tears by this News.
 
As you already know Michael played as much as he could at the GSH  Festival 
- and I focused on getting a lot of footage of him during the several  jazz 
jams - some included you singing with him. It's to be treasured. I was in  
the process of compiling my dvd's to send to Danny G - so he  could make 
them into one master DVD for Michael. Now we'll do it for  Sherry and Maylin - 
hopefully they'll derive some small comfort from seeing him  again 
surrounded by friends and in his element. He told me he couldn't play for  long at 
each session because the disease process made his nose run - so it was  
difficult to play, but he'd gamely recoup and go back up. What he did play was  
wonderful...he hadn't lost anything to this awful disease. Michael was  still 
Michael.
 
We sat together at the last jazz jam and talked quite a bit. He was holding 
 himself so stiffly - I knew he was hurting so rubbed his  back some and he 
said that helped. As he said his final goodnights and  goodbyes to Chris 
Bauer afterwards I saw him finally cry...and as we hugged  goodbye I couldn't 
hold back my own tears and telling him he was  breaking my heart. I now 
realize he knew how close his time was, but kept  hoping against hope he'd 
somehow survive this. To lose him now is so  terribly sad and damned unfair.
 
So many of us genuinely loved Michael. People just naturally felt this way  
about him because of the kind of person he was and those feelings encompass 
 his family who are also special. I will miss him deeply.
 
Elizabeth