A week prior to his passing, Merlin was allowed out of Wellesley Hospital to wind down his ennobled incarnation.  That first evening, Friday, November 10, 1989, we sat in our 20 Amelia Street living room and listened to Vladimir Horowitz as he had requested.

Earlier that week, on Sunday, November 5, 1989, Vladimir Horowitz had passed.  Enveloped in our waxing love, our souls were embalmed by Horowitz’s stellar artistry.

Shaman.  Genius.  Guru.  For both Merlin and me, there was no greater combo of these qualities than embodied in Vladimir Horowitz.

The following day, actor, Joe Morton would fly in from Los Angeles for 24 hours to say farewell to Merlin.  Though Merlin had not eaten in long weeks, his Candida precluded being able to ingest solids, he pulled up a chair and joined Joe and me as we dined on Chinese take-out.

This one act of Joe’s allowed Merlin to heal from the rejection of having been abandoned by his god-fugly Toronto so-called friends and leave this world void the bile of having been rejected – they chose to act as they did because, at the end of the day, a dog can always be counted on to lick itself and eat its vomit.  

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Photo: Vladimir Horowitz.  Vladimir Horowitz and Wanda Toscanini.

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