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July 18, 2008 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
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Singer Katie Reider dies after battle with rare tumor
by Anthony Glassman
Montclair, N.J.-One of Ohio's bestknown singer-songwriters passed away on July 14 at the age of 30, ending an almost two-year battle against a rare tumor that left her scarred and debilitated.
Katie Reider, a beloved fixture of the women's music scene in Ohio and northern Kentucky and a native of Cincinnati, was struck with a myofibroblastic inflammatory tumor that grew in her upper jaw, first noticing some pain in February 2006.
It wasn't until July 2007 that doctors properly identified the growth, which by that point had severely damaged her jaw.
It spread into her sinus, and cost her the sight in her left eye. She began treatment and the tumor shrank, but in February 2008, it began growing again. The pain from the tumor was accompanied by a case of shingles and the discovery of a lesion on her esophagus that deprived her of her voice.
After undergoing aggressive therapy, the tumor shrank to less than one-tenth its largest size, which seemed to be good news, and plans were made for reconstructive surgery to enable Reider to speak more clearly and return her appearance to a semblance of normalcy.
However, the dramatic shrinkage also dislodged the tumor, and she began bleeding from her mouth on June 29. The bleeding, interspersed with trips to various hospitals, continued intermittently for two weeks, before Reider died on her way to Beth Israel Hospital in New York City.
Reider, the daughter of a musician with a syndicated Cincinnati show popular in
the 1970s and '80s, started recording in 1998 and released four independent albums.
She was a constant fixture on the music scene in her native Cincinnati and in Columbus, and the Katie Reider Band often played Pride-related events like Rockin' in the Streets.
She is survived by her partner, Karen, and their two children, Aiden, 3, and Koen, 1. Other survivors include her father, Rob, her brothers Robbie and Andy, and her sisters Kristin and Abby.
A memorial service will be held on July 26 at 11 am at Crossroads Church, 3500 Madison Rd. in Cincinnati. Donations to her family to cover her medical expenses
can be made at http://katiereider .blogspot.com, which has a $1 download of Katie's Voice, a nine-song collection of her work, and a complete timeline of her valiant fight.
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Body Language to be sold
by Anthony Glassman
Cleveland-After owning the longestrunning LGBT store in the city for 15 years, Paul Zeitzew has found a new owner for Body Language, a fixture at West 115th Street and Lorain Avenue.
Zeitzew has brought in Steve Swerdlow who will over the next five years take an increasing share in the business.
'I never thought I'd be selling dildos this long.'
The store was founded by Linus Herrell and Ray Burton in 1984. Herrell's partner Steve Schochet bought it from him when his health began to deteriorate prior to his death in 1990.
Three years later, Schochet sold it to Zeitzew, who has tripled the store's sales, both through selling merchandise over the internet and increasing the establishment's commitment to customer service.
Swerdlow, 44, came on in April, and Zeitzew will transfer shares in the store to him each year, finally completing the change in ownership in 2013, a year before Body Language's 30th anniversary.
Swerdlow's participation has already allowed Zeitzew to move to a four-day work week, and he will soon be coming in only three days a week.
"I'm 76," Zeitzew said. "I want to retire." "I never thought I'd be selling dildos this long," he deadpanned.
There are some striking similarities between the current and future owners. Both sold menswear-Zeitzew hats, Swerdlow clothing for years before moving into sex toys, videos, books and rainbow Pride paraphernalia.
"It's amazing how you can take experience from one retail environment to any other retail environment," Swerdlow said.
"This one is just a lot more fun."
Both are Jewish, both have children, and both use the job as a way to more fully integrate their sexual orientation into their lives.
Aiding in the transition is the low turnover rate of the staff, who are not bound behind their counter.
"Our salespeople don't just sit behind the desk, they educate people on the products," said Swerdlow, who noted the importance of that help when a customer comes in who is interested in a certain fetish but does not have a background in it.
The store established its credentials and dedication to Cleveland's LGBT community under Herrell, and Zeitzew made sure that commitment remained in place. Over the years, he had donated items to dozens of community events.
"We have been dedicated to the community, and we intend to keep that," he said. One fixture of the store is the LGBT book section, which has not made money for Body Language in years, especially with the rise of Borders, Barnes and Noble and the online discount book retailers like Amazon. However, Zeitzew and Swerdlow insist that the books be there, satisfying the mind as much of the rest of their stock satisfies the libido.
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