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Among many other interests Steve was a staunch supporter of
saving the Gray Wolves of Yellowstone. Wolves represent the spirit of
freedom and play a critical role in bringing back balance to western
watersheds and plant and wildlife communities. The
wolf represents all that which is wild and free. They call us to the last
retreats of our vanishing wilderness, where their songs carry on the wind, a
wild defiant sorrow.
| | Life -
 | Steve's passion for life exceeded that of anyone that I have
ever known. By some peoples standards he would not be
considered successful, but by the only standard that really counts
Steve was extremely successful in life. He found his true self
and lived every day enjoying all of the things that he was
passionate about. |
| Steve made friends easily both in the United States and abroad
and those friends remained faithful and stayed in contact with him
throughout his entire lifetime. |
| He found true love and shared equally in all that it entails;
happiness, sharing, giving, understanding, frustration, joy, pain,
and sorrow and did so with the same zeal and devotion that he
applied to all of his other passions. |
| Steve found wonder and happiness in a lone flower growing in the
midst of the woods, or a mushroom sprouting on a path. He was
awestruck by the deer which crossed his property while he sat on his
deck sipping his early morning coffee and by the squirrel family
living in the tree just a few feet from his deck. |
| Steve saw and felt the majesty and the beauty of all that God
and nature has made of this world. He felt the independence,
wildness and freedom of the animals we share our planet with,
especially the wolves. |
| Steve saw, felt, and reveled in all of this while often in great
physical pain and sickness and knowing that his future would hold
much more suffering because of the crippling disease that he
carried. |
| How many of us can claim to be even half as successful in life?
God Bless you Steven, I love you, Vic. |
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Dining -
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 | Although Steve
thoroughly enjoyed cooking in his own kitchen and experimenting with
new ideas and recipes, he also loved dining out. From 5 star
restaurants to local pubs, Steve enjoyed it all. A few of his
favorite places were: Café de Paris, Ten Oaks Pub (Dayton), Bertucci’s
(Columbia), Fridays & Chili's (Laurel), Azteca (Clarksville), & The Calvert House
(Laurel). His
favorite waiter here in Maryland was Jon Greene. |
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| Having worked,
among other places, as a head server in Vail, Colorado in his
earlier years, he could at times be very critical of the service we
received at our table. For our first 2 years together, he would
always lean over and scrutinized the bill when it came time for me
to apply the tip. Steve believed in tipping well for good service
but so did I, so after a while he trusted me to tip properly. But
every so often…. |
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| | Travel -
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During our
entire time together Steve always spoke of wanting to go back to
Colorado some day. Steve enjoyed traveling around the U.S. either
on road trips, camping, hiking or just visiting different places.
When we started taking vacations in Europe, he became a whole new
person. He was excited, adventurous and also highly confident in
his ability to fit in regardless of the country we visited or the
language differences. Out of those countries, Steve told me many
times that he would love to go back to France to live. He truly
loved the lay of the country, the people, and especially the vast
amount of beauty and history that could be seen everywhere we went. |
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| | Hiking & Camping -
| For Steve, hiking was an opportunity to get as close to nature
and as far from civilization as possible. He reveled in the sight of
trees, flowers, flowing water, rocks, wildlife and birdsong. He left
all his worries, cares and stress behind and opened himself up to
the enjoyment and freedom of the natural world; the camaraderie of
fellow hikers and the private time with good friends. It didn't
matter to him that AS would cause him to suffer later that evening
or the next day from sore calves, sore ankles, sore feet, and pain
in every joint of his body. When we would hit the trails together,
he outperformed me every time no matter how hard I tried to keep up.
He loved it so much that he would hike every chance he got, ignoring
the physical cost and he would smile the whole time. |
| He enjoyed camping for many of the same reasons: laughing and
joking with good friends, making new ones easily, taking his kids,
Wyatt and Kaeli for walks on the mini trails surrounding the
campsite; cooking outdoors and then later, with Grand Marnier in
hand, relaxing in the evening shadow of great old trees beside a
beautiful lake. He enjoyed the new people we met. It didn't matter
to Steve who they were, what they did for a living, whether they
were young or old, good old boys or yuppies, he was ready to accept
them and like them. It didn't surprise me at all to get many emails
from hikers and campers we met over the years when they heard that
Steve had passed away.
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| | Gardening -
| xxx |
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Cooking -
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In 2006 Steve began to take an interest in
cooking. Steve would catch Kathy in the kitchen and they would
talk at length about recipes, favorite chefs and cooking shows as
well as techniques. He watched all of the cooking shows and
started buying cook books authored by chefs whose culinary arts
caught his attention; Jamie Oliver, Rachael Ray and Giada De
Laurentiis, to name a few. He began having a “cooking night” one
night a week and he and Roxie would whip up a favorite or
experiment with a new recipe. Every so often Steve would surprise
me by preparing something special when I least expected it. I
think Steve quickly discovered that he had a hidden talent that
was slowly emerging as he experimented more and more in his
kitchen. I can only imagine what delectable delights he might
have been cooking up today. |
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Yellowstone -
| I know that the time of Steve’s life that he spent in
Yellowstone was very special to him. He told me very little about
that part of his life because, he said, that we needed to be there
together for the telling so that I could truly feel it. I was
looking forward to the 2009 reunion because I knew that I would
finally hear about that so very special part of his life, not only
from him but also from those that he held so dear, his “forever”
friends. That will never happen now. All I can hope for is that
one or more of his “forever” friends will find it in themselves to
be able to do the telling, for him, and for me. |
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Alaska &
Steve's Kids (Wyatt & Kaeli) -
| Alaska, the large Malamute part wolf rescued by Steve but with a mind of its own and wild feral instincts guarded Steve against all newcomers. Alaska would place his body between Steve and anyone trying to get close to him. Very early in our relationship we were on a road trip and we stopped at a McDonalds to get a bite to eat. We were sitting in the grass, Steve with Alaska by his side and me sitting across from them. I thought I would offer Alaska a French fry, kind of like a peace offering, and held one out to him. He took it just short of my wrist, canine puncturing through the flesh next to my thumb. Lesson learned for me! Before Alaska would let me get close to Steve the two of us eventually had to have an Alpha/Beta experience. I actually had to wrestle him to the ground while trying to avoid being bitten and then pin and hold him until he finally whined for release. After that, there was seldom a problem between me and Alaska even when Steve and I were close. Steve called Alaska his Guardian Angel. Alaska: January 7, 1991 – March 1, 2004.
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| Before the month was out, Steve realized that he could not live without a dog. He was considering a Yorkie and we went out to look for one. When we saw that adorable little Shitzu everyone knows as Wyatt, it was love at first sight. (Wyatt Earp MacNaught) Steven loved that little rascal. Took him to obedience classes, took him to work and even took him shopping when he could. After a short while, Steve was worried about Wyatt being lonely during the week when he was working so out we went again to find Wyatt a companion. Again it was love at first sight but this time the Shitzu was that playful little pup everyone knows as Kaeli. (Kaeli Keecha MacNaught) Steve adored these two little bundles of love and they adored him. Everyday when Steve came home from work, they both would be waiting at his gate, Wyatt shivering in excitement and Kaeli hopping up and down on her front feet in anticipation. Steve often referred to Wyatt and Kaeli as his kids. Both Pups are currently living in Steve and their home, I am taking very good care of them, and they are a great comfort to me with their loving personalities.
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Family -
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Unfortunately, Steve was often very
adversarial with members of his immediate family. I’m not sure
what drove this in his nature and it never really made sense to
me. I know that he loved his family very much and, when they
weren’t in ear shot, often spoke highly and with pride about
them. |
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Friends -
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If you were one of Steve’s friends, you were
a friend for life. Although Steve was friendly and cordial to
most people he met, he chose his friends carefully and for life.
Some of his earliest friends can tell you that even though vast
distances separated them, Steve took great efforts to stay in
touch. Steve used to refer to them as his “forever” friends. |
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Music -
| Everyone knows that Steve loved Country music as well as Pop
and Rock from the 1960's through to 2008, but did you know that he
also loved Celtic pipes and flutes (Celtic Dreams) from Serenity
Music of Ireland; the Native
American & Popular music of Wayra;
Jimmy Durante's CD
"As Time Goes By"; and many more classic and alternative
style's which he frequently listened to in the privacy of his
home? You can see a partial list of the CD's Steve owned by
clicking here.
This of course doesn't count the over 3000 songs that he
downloaded to his iPod and played both in his home as well as in
his truck when driving. |
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