I would appreciate some of DU's good vibes or

[highplainsdem]

108. Another news story on George today, this one more worrisome.

Also much shorter.

I'm going to link to an English translation of the story on the same site that had offered only very brief snippets of the long article I posted about last. Most of the Dutch sources of this latest story are paywalled (on sites requiring Dutch forms of payment), but one I could get to, though longer, didn't have a lot more than the translated version. If it was originally a much longer story, with a lot more context, I can't reach it. But the way this story starts so abruptly makes me think it's taken from a much longer article.

https://netherlands.postsen.com/celebrities/151740/George-Kooymans-%E2%80%98It%E2%80%99s-good-that-Golden-Earring-stopped%E2%80%99.html

George Kooymans: ‘It’s good that Golden Earring stopped’


“You need creativity in songwriting, to keep new songs interesting. I thought that was starting to weaken a bit,” explains George, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2021. “Coincidentally, we got together for the first time in January in a restaurant that we loved to visit. It is at such a moment that we realize that we are really a family. It is a pity that it is over, because we had an amazing time and have done quite well. But the truth is, you can cry about anything.”

George is no longer under treatment. “No, only under control at the hospital in Leuven. And I get physiotherapy, nothing more. There is no cure for this disease, you have to be lucky that it doesn’t go too fast,” he says. “I don’t know anything else, I sometimes have those thoughts: yesterday was better than today, or last week I could do this and now I can’t anymore. The more distractions I have, the better it is.”

The musician does not want to be too busy with ‘the end’. “We all have a hard time with it at times, actually we are already grieving and that puts a strain on everyone. It’s not much more than that, I’m not that busy yet. Still, I shouldn’t complain about anything. If I look back on my life, I had a wonderful existence. Few people have that, you have to see it that way.”

I know from the only Dutch version of this I could reach that the Dutch word translated as "busy" in that last paragraph is "bezig" - which usually means busy. But it can also mean "engaged with" or "occupied with" - and using English, we'd probably say "preoccupied with" instead.

I have no idea what treatment George had been receiving that he's "no longer under" since I hadn't seen anything about medications he might have been given. What I've read about the various medications specifically for ALS - see https://www.als.org/navigating-als/living-with-als/fda-approved-drugs - indicates they don't really help a lot, or for very long, and they do have side effects. The drugs on that page are FDA approved, but I don't know if they're all approved in Europe.

In reply 81 above - about a fundraiser George's bandmate Cesar was doing to help pay for treatment in Mexico to help his son's partner, who's in her 30s and has had MS since her teens - I mentioned that the stem cell treatment described is starting to be used for ALS as well as MS, but I didn't know if it had ever been an option for George, if it was even considered because of his age. Plus it's extremely expensive and would have required a month-long stay in Mexico. (Cesar's son's girlfriend was supposed to have started getting treatment in Mexico earlier this month, but I don't know if she has.)

George mentioned needing distractions. I'm sure it helped him that he had work to complete on both his final album with Frank Carillo, which was released last summer, and the final Vreemde Kostgangers album released this month. But now he no longer has those as distractions.

I wish he would consider helping someone like the Dutch journalist and sound engineer who posts some Earring news on Steve Hoffman's forum - and who's worked on remastering some Golden Earring albums for their record label, Red Bullet - with a really comprehensive book on GE. A book that could be published in English as well as Dutch (Wouter's English is excellent), and that would include the band members' many projects with other musicians. But I don't know if George wants to do that or has the energy now. It would give him something to focus on, though.

And maybe some new software will help him write more music, and that can be his focus. I'd be very surprised if he isn't still constantly hearing new music in his head.

Besides the story above about George, I ran across a new story today on his Vreemde Kostgangers bandmate Boudewijn de Groot, with a few sentences about George.

https://netherlands.postsen.com/music/151565/Boudewijn-de-Groot-%E2%80%98Memories-lift-loneliness%E2%80%99.html

Boudewijn de Groot: ‘Memories lift loneliness’

-snip-

Are you still in touch with George?

“Certainly. George is less mobile, but is otherwise very positive and energetic. He deals with his illness in a way that makes you think… wow, very strong.”