R.I.P. Mary Travers, Sept 16, 2009

You can’t be gone Mary. You don’t feel gone. You are too much a part of my best memories and the best parts of me. There is too much of you in me and countless numbers of others for you to be gone. You were more than music. You lived the words of your songs and in doing so, taught me how to live.

I will remember sitting around many campfires; large campfires with ten people playing guitar and 30 more singing along and small campfires, late at night, with just a few people singing and talking, talking of things that we didn’t talk about during the day. We sang Peter, Paul, and Mary songs and everyone knew the words and the chords.

I will remember my first concert and my last concert and all the concerts in between. I will remember dragging my husband to a concert because no one else would drive the four hours to Ft. Myers with me. I saw my husband, who up until that minute thought that folk music was silly, moved to tears by one of your songs.

I think that I will let my acrylic nails grow out and drop off and that I will pick up the guitar again. I need to teach some songs to my grandchildren.