I am shocked, sad, a little numb, confused, angry – an ugly mix of too many emotions that comes from knowing that one of the most luminous people I know is no longer with us. He captivated us with his enthusiasm, and we rode along, sharing his buoyance. Magically, this stuck to and with you, and for this, I have been grateful more than a few times, here in Japan, thousands of miles away, on those occasions when I needed some spark to get it all going again.

For that is what Steven did: he made something inside us all sing... it started the moment that he grinned and didn't ever really end. I don't believe it ever will. In triumphant defiance of life's injustice, Steven will ever be behind every soaring of our spirits, no matter the reason, no matter how momentous or mundane. I am grateful to Steven for this and thus am grateful to you, Cindy, for being the person that made his spirit soar.

-Akiko Yamagata

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