Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Ricky came into and out of my life like a comet. Many years ago, when we were all very young, Ricky came into my 13 year old life and gently opened musical doors, patiently teaching me how to play the guitar and the banjo, moving me away from The Kingston Trio and exposing me to Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie...the 'real deal' in the world of folk music. For one magical season, the fall and winter of 1961/62 he came to teach, filling the room with his laughter and his lessons and the smell of Old Spice and Marlboros. Then he left as fast as he came, to travel Europe and move forward in his life. It was a magical time with snowfalls and musical 'field trips' to NYC and 48th St, and upon his return, one trip to the Jersey Shore where we marched up the main boulevard singing 'This Land Is Your Land' with many following behind and singing along, with folks coming out of their houses to wave and applaud..with Ricky at the front on the banjo, the Pied Piper. I am so grateful that I was able to track him down several years ago to let him know how much he meant to me, how much that window in time stays with me still.
RIP Ricky
