Sour Times

My uncle Oliver died of cancer this weekend. My sister and I travelled to New York and managed to see him before he went off life support. He wasn't conscious but we're still really glad we went. It was really good to be around everyone who loved this amazing man. There were actually so many well-wishers at the hospital that security tried to kick us out, saying there had been complaints. Luckily my dad laid down the law and told the security guy where to get off.

Anyway, this has been pretty difficult and surprise surprise, I don't feel like blogging. Tomorrow I go to Toronto until late next week so I wouldn't expect any bloggery until then. Bye friends.

Here is the first draft of Oliver's obituary:
After a long difficult struggle with multiple myeloma, Oliver Hirsch, 60, died Monday afternoon at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan.

Hirsch was exhibitions director of the Raices Latin Music Collection, teacher of Exhibition Design in the Graduate Program at New York University and owner of the fine arts services firm Hirsch and Associates. Without a formal education, Hirsch began his work in visual arts as a picture framer, quickly gaining skills and knowledge to propel him where he is today. At Hirsch and Associates, he has handled the work of a host of well-known and respected artists, ranging from Jim Henson to Keith Haring to Chris Ofili.

Hirsch was retained by the world-renowned auction house Christie's to develop an art-handling training program for its more than 250 employees responsible for storing, cataloguing and presenting the priceless artifacts in Christie's care. In this role, he co-authored Christie's Guide to Art Handling, and lectured Christie's staff on a regular basis.

Hirsch's political life was no less extraordinary than his professional work. An Air Force officer during the Vietnam War, Hirsch made headlines when he and eight fellow officers, the "Nine for Peace," went AWOL as a form of protest over the increasing escalation of violence in Vietnam. He was prominently featured in the recent award-winning documentary Sir No Sir, a movie about war resisters within the US armed forces.

After being thrown out of a military stockade with a bad discharge in 1968, Hirsch helped establish GI Help, a San Francisco-based counseling service to help soldiers avoid going to vietnam. Hirsch later took revolutionary politics to the mills of the pacific northwest and to the coal mines of West Virginia, where he worked as a miner for five years during the wildcat strike movement of the 1970s. Hirsch remained politically engaged until the end, and regarding his role during the vietnam war, he said he was "proud and unrepentant."