Pedal Steel Mike
Jun-14-2005, 4:32pm
Some of you may be familiar with the name Winnie Winston. Winnie was once national banjo champion, and played with Bill Monroe for a while. He also played pedal steel (which is how I know him) and in fact wrote the book I learned from.
Winnie passed away yesterday, from prostate cancer.
Winnie and I met in 1984 and discovered we had many things in common besides the pedal steel. Over the years we became very close friends, and he visited me in L.A. several times.
He was first diagnosed with cancer 6 or 7 years ago. He didn't want a lot of people to know. I was one of the few people he told.
Winnie weighed the options, and decided not to seek treatment, but to let the disease run it's course, and spend his remaining years traveling around the world. he was especially thrilled to go to Egypt and see the pyramids.
He probably would still be alive today if he had chosen to undergo the surgery and chemotherapy, but this is what he wanted. He lived and died on his own terms.
R.I.P. old friend.
Winnie passed away yesterday, from prostate cancer.
Winnie and I met in 1984 and discovered we had many things in common besides the pedal steel. Over the years we became very close friends, and he visited me in L.A. several times.
He was first diagnosed with cancer 6 or 7 years ago. He didn't want a lot of people to know. I was one of the few people he told.
Winnie weighed the options, and decided not to seek treatment, but to let the disease run it's course, and spend his remaining years traveling around the world. he was especially thrilled to go to Egypt and see the pyramids.
He probably would still be alive today if he had chosen to undergo the surgery and chemotherapy, but this is what he wanted. He lived and died on his own terms.
R.I.P. old friend.