This past September, a gaunt Ken Peplowski appeared as the special guest of Frank Vignola at the outdoor Morristown New Jersey Jazz & Blues Festival. His emaciated physical appearance, he weighed only 130 lbs., affirmed the severe life-threatening problems he has endured, but his playing and humor were, as always, uplifting and grand.
Afterwards, I helped carry his equipment through the crowd lounging on lawn chairs and blankets to his waiting ride. As we walked, people repeatedly thanked or complemented him until he said to me, “This is why I do what I do.” He had given a joyously wonderful performance, and those responses sustained him.
These pandemic years challenged everyone, but Pep’s burden was extreme. He loves performing, and the pandemic induced isolation was made even worse by having to put his beloved dog Honey Pie to sleep. Then he caught Long Covid, but never had to be hospitalized. “The worst was complete random episodes of bad fatigue. One day I could do absolutely nothing. Then I’d wake up the next and be completely exhausted, like I ran a marathon.”
He turned to an old family friend, Doctor Jerome Zacks, then one of the leading cardiologists at Mount Sinai hospital, now retired. “I described my symptoms and asked, ‘Can you help me find a good general physician?’ He said, ‘I’ll see you.’ I mentioned that my insurance didn’t cover him, a
