WEBVTT

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[AUDIENCE CLAPPING]

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Barbara Allen

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First, thank you Gail and
Cozi for sharing Steve with us

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for so many years.

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I don't know how you
managed to be so generous,

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but thank you from the
bottom of my heart.

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I'm going to tell a couple
non-sequitur stories.

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And the first one, Steve
wouldn't approve of,

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which I think is
why I should say it

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because it has a spiritual bit.

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But I was so sad as we
all are about his death.

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And I had a conversation
with a Buddhist friend.

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And he explained to me a
little bit about his views,

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and the importance in Buddhism
of having what Gail has

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called a good death.

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And he explained
that when you're

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surrounded in death
by those who love you,

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and by those who
you have taught,

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it is a symbol of how
close you are to--

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oh well, it's a symbol
of all the good karma

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that you've gathered.

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And if you can
have a good death,

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it means that you
had a good life.

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And that helped me quite a bit.

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And he also said that being
surrounded by so much love,

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gives you a bounce
into the next life--

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this Steve would find
crazy but so that--

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and he explained it to me.

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He said, so your friend
Steve he was surrounded

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by all those friends
that last weekend,

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and in all these people help
him enter into his next realm.

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So he's going to
get to let's say

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be born into Dante's
fourth circle instead

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of Dante's fifth circle.

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So that has helped me.

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And I wanted to take a
moment to thank everyone,

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and especially those that were
with him the last weekend.

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That really-- you were all
there to send Steve off.

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And it's a great honor
that you did that,

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not only to yourselves
but to Steve as well.

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OK, so the other
thing I wanted to say,

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I'm going to tell you all
about the last conversation I

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had with Steve, which
probably took place

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in the end of October.

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I ran into him in
front of the library.

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We went over to the
no smoking section

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and he pulled out a cigarette.

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And we began the conversation.

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And these conversations,
I think they'll

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be familiar to all of you.

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But they always begin
in the same way,

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and they begin with
an update of Cozi.

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And how Cozi's he's doing.

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And he's worried about
Cozi because Cozi's

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driving the freeways.

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But on the other hand, Cozi
made this really great joke,

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and he wanted to
repeat the joke.

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So we did that part
of the conversation.

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Then he asked me
about my children,

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and I gave him an
update on my children.

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And he asked me about
how my husband was,

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and I said, "well, we kind
of had this argument."

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And he said, "well, what
was the argument about?"

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And I told him, and he said,
"yeah that was your fault.

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Apologise."

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And then we began,
and then he did

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this thing which he always did,
and I'm sure he did all of you.

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He did the rundown of all
the people we have in common.

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So he said, "How is George?"

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And I said, "Well, you
know, George is George."

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And he shook his head
like he understood.

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And then he asked how Gibb was,
and I said, "Well, Gibb, I'm

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sure it's very literary
and funny as always."

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And he shook his head.

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And then he said,
"How's Tony Hoagland?"

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And I said, "Well I haven't
spoke to Tony Hoagland

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in 35 years.

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I'm sure he's fine."

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And then he said,
"How Deb Jane?"

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And I said, "well
Deb Jane in Kentucky,

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and she's reading poetry
that's really depressing.

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And it's foggy, and I
really worried about her

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because she's
climbing mountains."

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And he said, "well,
don't worry about her."

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And I said, "OK, I won't."

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And then he said,
"How's David Rivard?"

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And I said, "I've never
even met David Rivard.

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So you have officially
violated every rule

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of how is so and so game, so
we can't play it anymore."

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and he said, "OK."

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Then there was a
moment silence, and I

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said, "Have you been to any
good restaurants lately?"

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And he said, "Well, Nancy
Pitt just took us to Feast."

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And he said, "It
was really great."

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And I said, "well,
why was it so great?"

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And he says, "Well, there
are these paintings there

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by this painter,
Gail Marcus-Orlen.

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It was just phenomenal."

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And he goes, "have you
ever heard of her?"

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And I said, "I think I have."

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And he goes, "I want
to sleep with her."

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And I said, "Steve, I
think you should go for it.

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You might have a chance there."

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And so he said, "OK."

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And then, that was the
end of the conversation.

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We got up and hugged.

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And I repeat this story because
it's very mundane and very

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sweet all at the same time.

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And that is what
has brought us here

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and has put us on
the Steve chain.

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Then, Steve, it's his
sweetness that has

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brought us all here together.

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And I want to say,
it's a great honor

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to be in the
presence of everyone

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here because we have
Steve in common.

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Thank you.

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