Let’s open this with a special track that you can listen to while you read the following text:

I write this with sad eyes and a heavy heart, weary from my burdens. This one? Well, this one is a pretty big burden, but one I undertake willingly. I am going to be brief and direct. 

Recently, CynicalOldFart (aka COF, author of the overwhelming majority of this site’s articles) lost his battle with cancer. He went peacefully in his sleep, and had spent the time leading up to his passing surrounded by loved ones.

COF has been laid to rest in a lovely location, where his body will return to the earth. It’s a final act of giving back. It’s an ending to a life of giving.

This site is an example of his giving spirit. He felt an obligation to these songs, to the music, and wanted to give people access to the stories that surrounded the music. 

Even at the end, he was giving. While a bit dated now, COF’s last article was completed around the time he was starting to feel serious discomfort. He’d sometimes lament not being able to add more content to this site, but he simply didn’t have the energy – quite understandably.

Amusingly, if you go back through the history of this site, you’ll see the first articles written by me – but were based on his short notes. It was I who figured he’d need an outlet but it’d take a while before he was comfortable doing the work himself.

Once done, he went back and properly fixed my articles!

That’s the kind of person COF was. He wasn’t necessarily fast to act, but once he set his mind on doing something he was going to follow through with it. The times I saw him the happiest were the times he discussed music of family. In the end, he had them both. He’d come to grips with his demise and going peacefully in his sleep was about the best outcome he could realistically hope for.

With that in mind, I’d like to share an additional track. If you were close with COF, you may want a tissue or two – and that’s okay.

For those of you who were close, it never gets ‘better’. It does get easier. The hole his passing left in your heart is never really filled again, no matter how hard you try. But, you do get used to the loss – the wondering about what might have been.

So, what does this mean for the Music For Us website? Well, ideally it’ll remain up and running, an archive of the work that has been put into the site. Personally, I spoke with COF about adding more material as time goes on and I may do that. There’s also family involved who have access to the site and, as I understand it, will ensure it remains up and running for at least the duration.

Anyhow, even though we’re sad, COF would much prefer it if we’d celebrate his life. He’d much prefer we process our grief and move on. No matter how long that took to grieve, nor how that celebration was done, he’d have wanted it to be with music as a central theme. So, with that in mind, turn up the music and dance like nobody is watching.

If you’d like to comment, please consider including a song that means something to you. Otherwise, the site will stay up and running and maybe get some new content. If you’re interested in helping beyond that, writing content or maybe alleviating the cost for hosting for the family, feel free to leave a comment and someone will get back to you. If we try hard enough, we can keep COF alive by keeping him and his work in our memories and in our stories.

Thanks for reading.

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