Solveig

This evening, I learned of the tragic death of my college piano instructor, M. Solveig Steen. She died in a fire in her home in Sioux Falls early this morning. She planned to retire from Augustana College at the end of this school year. She was 77. Solveig (pronounced "soul-vay") was such a fixture in my college years, and I was grateful that we kept in touch after. I submitted the following to Augustana upon their request for memories of this remarkable woman. I will miss her immensely.

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I studied piano with Solveig all four years at Augie and we kept in regular contact after I graduated. She would update me via type-written letters regarding her latest home improvement projects, her travels, and of course, her beloved students. She truly cared about each of them, but had a soft spot for the youngest ones. One student in particular she lovingly referred to as her "adopted grandson, Sam" -- who is probably a college student himself now.

The opposite of stuffy or rigid, Solveig had a delightful sense of humor and was just plain fun to be around. She'd wistfully recount how she "weighed 88 lbs in her younger years" and was constantly saying she needed to diet (which she didn't) but that she loved food too much. She was a notorious night owl and would stay up until the wee hours of the morning watching cable TV ("there are just so many channels!"). She was always in the middle of some major project or other, either landscaping or remodeling or something that required power tools and heavy lifting. I visited with her at her home a couple times, and after showing me the latest and greatest improvements, she'd describe in detail the next "to-do" item on her ever-lengthening list. She certainly didn't shy away from hard work and would go completely stir-crazy if an illness or injury stalled her progress.

Solveig's favorite musical piece was Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings and once she took time out of my lesson to walk me down to the listening room, pull the LP off the shelf (because "analog sounds better") and play it for me. We sat in silence listening to the gorgeous music, which she later pointed out was brilliantly used in the Charlie Sheen movie, Platoon. To this day, I think of her whenever I hear those gut-wrenching crescendos.

Solveig had a zeal for life: for faith, art, adventure, current events, music, and especially, the piano. She knew when I hadn't practiced but didn't berate me for it. Instead, she'd tell me about how much she practiced when she studied under Ruth Slenczynska, which had the same effect. She was a patient instructor who infused her lessons with laughter, storytelling, and artistic passion. She introduced me to my favorite composer, Frederic Chopin, and once told me, "you were made for Chopin, and Chopin was made for you." One of the greatest compliments I ever received was when she told me I had executed a passage from one of his Preludes better than she could. It was a proud moment for me, and I like to think it was a moment of pride for her too.

Every person can point to two or three teachers in his or her past who have had a lasting, life-changing impact. I am blessed that Solveig was one of those teachers. Even though she is gone, she will continue to be a pivotal figure in my life, and no doubt, in the lives -- and music -- of many others.

Blessed be her memory.

Margaret Solveig Steen
January 9, 1936 - April 12, 2013

Deadly drink

I have to start by saying I feel like kind of a hypocrite writing this post. I drank in college. I continue to enjoy wine and beer and the occasional mixed drink, and sometimes I get a little carried away and pay for it the next morning.

But this morning I'm writing about a young man who didn't have the luxury of paying for it the next morning. Because he died.

Just before I left the office yesterday, I learned that my coworker's nephew had been found dead of alcohol poisoning. He was in college, pledging a fraternity.

So many words come to mind.... horrible, tragic, heartbreaking............... preventable.

So often we hear news reports of situations just like this, where college frat parties quickly turn into alcohol binge fests where the goal is to out-do one another to see who can down the most booze in the shortest amount of time. Drinking games like the "power hour," "century club" and others often can -- and do -- result in DEATH.

"Alcohol poisoning occurs when a person consumes an excessive amount of alcohol. Alcohol can depress or stop nerve signals that control breathing and the gag reflex that prevents choking. As drinking increases, the person will become sleepy, or fall into a stupor. Ultimately, the respiratory system becomes depressed, and the person can stop breathing, causing death. Commonly, comatose patients aspirate their vomit, resulting in vomitus in the lungs, which can cause asphyxiation and death." (WebMD & Wikipedia)

The story told to my coworker's sister-in-law by one of her son's roommates is that his soon-to-be fraternity brothers set a case of beer in front of him and said, "drink." And he did. And he died.

The really sad and angering part is, there is nothing that can be done to change this. Even with all the preaching and lecturing and fact-presenting and awareness campaigning and M.A.D.D. and S.A.D.D. demonstrating, fraternities and sororities will continue with their drinking rituals, college students will continue to drink to excess, and young men and women will continue to die.

Scary.

Scary that alcohol can have such power. And even scarier that we let it.

My heart breaks for this family. There is now a mother without her son, a sister without her brother, an uncle without his nephew. And now, the "if only's" and "should have's" will begin. Because that is human nature. We punish ourselves in situations like this because our feelings of helplessness and guilt force us to. But nothing can bring him back, and that fact alone is punishment enough.

There is no happy ending, no silver lining. This kid is dead. A senseless waste of a precious human life.

That is all there is to say.