Dan Fogelberg, Valentine's Day, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation

It seems that everyone in the sci/med blogosphere is offering Valentine's posts reflecting their areas of professional interest. So, here's mine:

Your humble Pharmboy came of age with glam, punk, and New Wave music but thanks to PharmMom, RN, and her then-college-aged ER co-workers, I have a soft spot for 70s soft-rocking singer-songwriters. Yes, Jim Croce, John Denver, James Taylor, and Dan Fogelberg.

So it was with great interest and nostalgia that I opened this e-mail a few days ago from the Prostate Cancer Foundation:

Dan Fogelberg, the singer and songwriter whose hits "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" helped define the soft-rock era, died December 16th at his home in Maine after battling prostate cancer. He was 56.

A message from Jean Fogelberg
In February of 2005, Dan went to Colorado for a few weeks to supervise some ranch business and to do some work in the studio. I stayed in Maine to oversee the final construction phase of our Maine house. It was hard for us to be so far apart for so long, especially since we would miss Valentine's Day together.

On the afternoon of the 14th, the florist brought me a dozen long-stemmed red roses; FedEx brought me a CD with a song Dan had written for me just for Valentine's Day.

The song is called "Sometimes A Song", and it is available right now as a digital download at iTunes, WalMart.com, Amazon and Rhapsody.

Happy Valentine's Day,
Jean

100% of proceeds from all digital sales will be donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

You can download the song here.

Being committed to the career development of junior researchers, I should note that the PCF supports a young investigator's research grant program, offering three years of prostate cancer research support at $75,000 per year.

Thanks, Jean, for sharing Dan's gift with us all and supporting such a great cause.