Anyone who has read PN-more formally known as Paraplegia News-will recognize in the title of this letter the name PN’s editor Cliff Crase gave to his own monthly address to his readers. For me, Cliff’s warm and witty “Reasons and Remarks”were always a highlight of the magazine.They reflected the personal style of their author very well.
I first met Cliff at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Seattle in 1996. I was new to the organization and, while enjoying myself thoroughly covering the largest annual wheelchair sports event in one of the most beautiful and delightfully eccentric cities in the country, I was overwhelmed by running from event to event, interviewing everyone I could buttonhole.
Cliff, who also seemed to be everywhere, was always remarkably calm and at ease. He was completely at home with his fellow paralyzed vets and wheelchair athletes (Cliff first made his mark as a world class swimmer), but he seemed to know everyone. One of his close friends was our own Al Youakim (see the story here). From our first conversation, it seemed that he truly considered me a friend.
I’ve heard from others similar stories about their first encounters with Cliff. He had a talent for connecting with people, making them feel as comfortable as he seemed to be. I think this reflected Cliff’s fundamental generosity and good spirit. Despite being editor of a supposedly “rival”magazine, I was often a beneficiary of Cliff’s generosity.
In his last letter to readers, he apologized for missing his first Vets Games “in years due to a bout I’m having with pancreatic cancer (which I plan on defeating!).”
Alas, Cliff lost the bout on August 1. We will miss him.
Christofer D. Pierson
Managing Editor
