Sick

though I was generally aware of his "performance masochism." I met Bob as a very bright, gifted poet during the early 1970s. I was in my 30s and finishing my post-doc psych internship at the MH Clinic serving Watts and South Central LA. Bob's Cystic Fibrosis was unremarkable to me insofar as my cerebral palsy was, presumably, unremarkable to him. Writing was Bob's fulltime gig. I had hopes of "quitting my daytime gig" - head-shrinking - when/if my own writing ever supported my family. Bob and I were cordial, never close. I admired and, occasionally, envied Bob.

I forced myself to see the movie. It works. Masochism discomforts me in the extreme - yet Bob remains clear, kind articulate as ever. His 'dominitrix' comes across similarly. The truly chilling moments of "Sick" are Bob Flanagan's mother during her brief moments on camera.

Rest well, Bob.