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MISSING JOHN
September 21, 1998 It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since John Denver died. It’s also hard to believe that I could miss someone that I never met so much, but I do. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about John, and all of the music he’ll never write or sing again. We may still have his tapes and CD’s, but we’ll never feel the energy of his performing that music live again. Other people may perform John’s most popular songs, but some of his best songs were non-hits, the songs that will go forever more unsung. It’s a shame that when an artist dies, his greatest work dies with him. HARRY AND JOHN September 22, 1998 The only artist I miss as much as I miss John Denver, is Harry Chapin (Taxi, Cat’s In The Cradle, etc.). Unlike John however, I did have the privilege of meeting Harry on several occasions. On July 16, 1981, Harry was killed in an auto accident on the Long Island Expressway. He was on his way to perform at a benefit concert. On December 7th, Harry would have been 56, and on December 31st, John would have been 55. In 1976, Harry wrote a song called “Corey’s Coming.” I loved the song so much that 4 years after Harry died, I took Corey as my nickname, and that’s what most people call me today. In an old program from a Chapin concert that I went to, is a picture of Harry and John together. They both tried so hard to make this world a better place. Since both of them died, there doesn’t seem to be anyone out there “beating the drum” about the things that were so important to them (World Hunger for Harry, and the Ecology for John, although he was also a strong advocate for the fight against World Hunger). No one has picked up the torches that they dropped, and that is very sad. NEVER MISS A CHANCE March 15, 1999 This was inspired by a couple of different things. The first thing, is an interview I saw recently with Maria Shriver. During the interview, Maria said that after her cousin Michael Kennedy died suddenly last year (in a skiing accident), she called all of her friends to tell them that she loved them. Maria’s feeling was that if something to her, or any of her friends, she didn’t want any regrets about anything that was left unsaid. A couple of days after the interview aired, my dear friend Danny Quinn was involved in a serious car accident. By the grace of God, Danny wasn’t seriously hurt, but I couldn’t keep from thinking about what might have happened. We can never tell the people we love often enough how much we treasure them. You never know which time you see them, may be the last, so never miss a chance to tell them how you feel. SING A SONG March 15, 1999 I never know where inspiration for a poem will come from. The inspiration for this poem came from something I heard Danny Quinn say to his singing partner, Tom Gardner. They were trying to get on the same key for a song they were about to sing, and Danny said, “It’s in the key of love.” That sparked something in my head, and that spark became this poem. Thanks for the inspiration Danny! |