A Few of Steve's Favorite Things

"I like what I do, and I love where I do it."—Steve Glazer

Monday I received a text you never want to get. It said that a good friend of mine, Steve Glazer, had died. Suddenly, unexpectedly, possibly of a heart attack. Death is as normal as nightfall but it always comes as a shock when the darkness falls over a person you’ve known since high school, shared drinks and many good times with, and a guy you expected to share more laughs and good times with in the days ahead.

Today’s issue of Tilting West is devoted to Steve. Even those of you who did not know him may enjoy hearing about some of his favorite things, starting with the place he called home.

Lake Tahoe, California

Steve lived in the village of Homewood on the west shore of the lake. This would not be the first thing his friends and family would say about him but it was nonetheless true: He loved beauty. You don’t live in a gloriously beautiful place like Tahoe unless the majestic blueness of the great lake and the snow-topped mountains speak to you on a deep level. He relished it every day, this beauty, and it’s one of the reasons he came there as a young man and stayed there the rest of his life, through August sunshine and January storms, until drawing his last breath.

Playing Craps

In addition to its beauty, Lake Tahoe is also a banging place to party. Two states, California and Nevada, divvy up the lake as if it were the spoils of a pirate treasure. The east side of the basin is the Nevada side, and that’s where the gambling casinos and all-night partying occurs. On more than one occasion Steve availed himself of the pleasures Nevada has to offer, happily throwing back tequila shooters at the casinos, chatting up females, and making impossible bets at his favorite game of chance, craps.

“I played craps with Glazer numerous times,” remembers Bob Newlon. “He loved betting on Hardway 8. Any time he got up on the Pass line he’d toss a dollar out and bet on the Hardway. Of all the times I was at the craps table with him, which was quite a few at different casinos over a long time, I never saw him win that bet. Not once. He still loved going for it.”

“I had forgotten about the Hardway 8!” laughs another buddy of his, Steve Bragonier. “That bet never came.”

His Work, His Water Company

Steve earned his night-time playtime by working hard for it. “I like what I do, and I love where I do it,” he told friends. The “what” in that statement was mainly his water company. He owned and operated a water company that provides drinking water to the small communities that hug the western shore of the lake near Tahoe City. Right there, his life stands out. How many people do you know who run a water company? Not many, I’d guess.

“Glaze loved those pipes and valves,” said Newlon. “He would visit me in Malibu on his way back from a waterworks convention. A year or so back he stayed over and we sat on the deck on a particularly warm evening shooting the breeze. I liked his off-beat perspective on things. The next day he came with me as I made the rounds to some amazing projects I’m working on. Glaze was at a $50 million property and saw a pipe sticking out of the ground and wanted to know what it was for. We checked it out. Utilities, waterworks, valves, pumps. He loved them all.”

His Mountain Cabin

One thing that happens when you live in a place like Tahoe is that people are always dropping in and staying for the weekend or longer. Steve lived in a mountain cabin that was always a mess when I went there, but he was a bachelor, lived by himself, and he could keep house—or not keep house—however he liked. One visitor that really enjoyed his house was an overly friendly bear. Newlon begins the story:

“I remember staying at his cabin along with at least a dozen other people. I slept on the ground in a sleeping bag outside. It was like a hippie commune type of thing. Steve was so open and welcoming to everyone staying there. I was carrying dishes to the kitchen sink and screamed out. ‘Bear!!’ The face of one was two feet from mine staring in as I looked out. I ran off as the bear ran off. Everyone ran into the kitchen along with Glaze. He said, ‘Oh yeah, he’s been hanging around looking for handouts,’ and went back to the table.”

And Bragonier picks up the story where Bob left off:

“There is more to your bear memory. I had spent all day cooking a homemade apple pie from scratch using my Mom's recipe. We had just eaten the pie for dessert and that is when you cleared off the plates. Glazer's house was on a downward slope so the bear was looking into the back window at eye level. You screamed and we all ran to the window. Glazer got out a pan and banged it out the back door to try and scare the bear off. We thought it was Yogi Bear coming to get his pie.”

His Dog Sid

When you live in the mountains you have to have a dog. It’s the law. Steve’s dog was named Sid. It’s a tough call as to who was more devoted to the other—Steve to Sid, or Sid to Steve. But Steve’s devotion to his companion had its limits. We’ll let Josh Lateiner tell the story:

“One of Steve's favorite things was definitely his dog Sid. My favorite memory of Glaze is the time he told us the story of Sid having a boner that wouldn't retract.  He called the vet and was told to rub some olive oil on it. Max and I gave him shit about this until the day he died. We would make jokes about Steve playing fetch with Sid by throwing a stick into the woods but Sid would come running back with a bottle of olive oil.  Or I'd be making dinner at Max's house in Tahoe with Glazer over and I would just show him the bottle of olive oil and say ‘Hey Glaze, can you help me out?  It won't go down.’ Glaze would just have tears streaming down his cheeks laughing every time at the stupid jokes.”

His Trucks and Vehicles

The event that took Steve’s life occurred in his truck. An officer who was called to do a well check on him because nobody had heard from him in a while found his body in the front seat of his truck. He died with his boots on, probably on his way to do some water company job, in the land he loved, and in a familiar refuge for him, the cab of his truck. There’s a hard comfort in that thought.

“He had several vehicles,” recalls Max Lateiner. “Some for work, some for pleasure. One for pleasure was a red Mustang. I think a ‘68, but not sure. Shelley [his sister] would probably know. He’s had it since high school. There was the Mustang, a jeep, Volvo, Toyota Tacoma, and two trucks. He had a snow blower and a backhoe.”

He put one of his trucks to emergency use one winter when my family came to stay in his cabin. The beginning of a huge snowstorm started during the day and by night thick clumps of white were carpet-bombing the area. The photo below is not his house, but it’s located nearby, and it gives an accurate picture of what the four of us and Steve saw the next morning when we looked out the windows:

Despite the storm we needed to get back home that day. Steve pulled our Highlander from the mountain of snow that had buried it overnight and put chains on for us. Unfortunately 27,000 other people had the same idea as us and we were quickly stranded in a serpentine traffic jam stretching between Tahoe City and Truckee of cars trying to get over Donner Pass before it was closed. Luckily we had a guy on our team who knew what to do. He called ahead and nabbed what may have been the last available hotel room in the entire city of Truckee. We inched our way there and spent the night in warmth and safety thanks to our hero.

Food and Drink and Frolicking with Friends

Josh Lateiner and Steve

Glazer was a man who liked to have a drink. His favorite drink was tequila. Every night after a day of tending to all those pipes and valves he’d pour himself a shot and half a glass a beer. It was what he liked to do, it relaxed him, and during the summer maybe he’d turn the Giants game on the radio and see what his favorite team was up to.

“Our big competition was between the Giants and Dodgers,” recalls Max Lateiner, an ardent Dodgers fan. “He for the Giants and me for the Dodgers. We had an annual bet which was a bottle of booze for whose team was ahead in the division and another for the winner of the head to head games.”

When they went out together Max and Steve often dined and drank at the Bridgetender Tavern, a comfort food favorite of locals in Tahoe City within steps of Fanny Bridge where the lake spills into the Truckee River. But there were plenty of times when the fun began on the west shore and ended on the 24-hour party side.

“One time the two Steves [Glazer and Bragonier] and I barbecued at Glazer's house, then drove over to South Shore in my Porsche with the roof down,” said Max. “It was a two-seater but we squeezed in. We had a bottle of vodka with us and by the time we arrived at Harrah's Casino the bottle was empty. We hooted and hollered all the way over especially at the top of Emerald Bay. We gambled all night and then drove back and saw the sun rising over the lake.”

One last memory, from the other Steve in Max’s story, thinking back on when he was young and first came to Tahoe: “I remember driving to Tahoe in my tiny MG with the top down with a suitcase and nothing else to live in. Exiting onto the Truckee River road and smelling the pine trees was one of the best experiences of my life. I stayed at Steve’s. We had such a good time that summer. It was one of the best summers of my life. We had barbecues, bonfires and lots of Lucky store friends [where Bragonier worked] to be with every weekend. If visitors from the Bay Area or people too drunk to drive home stayed with us, then Glazer would cook breakfast for everyone the next morning—eggs and Zuccini in a big cast iron pan on the old stove.”

Two More For the Road 

These short vignettes are incomplete fragments of a full life. Steve’s mother Irma is 95 and she is—well, you can imagine how she feels. His older sister Shelley is posting a remembrance on Facebook, and her son Kyle, Steve’s nephew, has three children. Steve had not quite reached his 71st birthday when he climbed into that truck for the last time, getting ready to start his day. Two more pictures for the road:

With Lucy, Josh’s daughter, at a birthday party some years ago,

And a big thumbs up for Steve, for a job well done, from four of his pals.

For more on Steve and his love of baseball, please see Willie Mays and the Negro Leagues, and Steve Glazer’s Celebration of Life.