I just learned that Roger Nichols has been fighting cancer since last summer and has been facing enormous expenses. Apparently the expenses have nearly wiped him out and he is asking for contributions to help pay for his current treatment.
You can learn much more about Roger's career and his current predicament as his site,
http://rogernichols.com/ I'm sending a contribution as soon as I post this thread.
Those of us with gray hairs (or no hair at all) get rather used to these sad announcements. I didn't know Roger very well but did meet him a few times. He was always humble, friendly, and full of stories. The first couple of times that we met, the conversation centered on tech tales, and was amazed to later learn that he'd engineered the Mamas And Papas, Steely Dan, and so many others. This week I was further surprised, as long time diver, to see on his site that he was a Scuba instructor (his site has great photos including some he took with Jacques Cousteau and John Denver on the Calypso), not to mention astronomer, inventor, and so much more.
As a side note, but not really: I'm 57 and for the last year or so I have realized that I have one regret in my life. I have been lucky enough to meet and work with so many amazing people, some who were personal heroes of mine. Many of them were glad to talk with me and share things, but I was timid to ask, or it was late and I wanted to get home, or for whatever reason, I didn't realize just whose presence I was in. Many of those people are gone now. I wish that I had taken more time to talk, get to know them better, hear about their lives, learn more about them.
I really, really hope that Roger pulls through. Maybe I'll still have a chance to hang out with him and hear a few more of his stories. What an amazing man. Good luck Roger.