Dr. Bland loved teaching and writing for lay groups. He fervently believed in the reversibility of osteoarthritis of the hip and knee and of atherosclerotic arterial narrowing, and—while not exactly believing in immortality—prescribed his preferred alternative in Live Long, Die Fast.
He was driven by a childlike curiosity and possessed boundless good nature and a delightful sense of fun. He was a wonderful father, friend, physician, and teacher. His funeral was a sad and joyous remembrance attended by hundreds—family, medical friends old and young, patients, skiers, equestrians, marathon runners, and farmers—all in one way or another his colleagues.
Dr. Plotz is chief of the arthritis and rheumatism branch of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, NIH in Bethesda, Md.
