Thursday, November 27, 2008

remembering David

Like many friends and fans of David Enloe, I woke up crying this morning. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since his death. But as the days go by his legendary status, at least in our minds, will continue to grow. He was “a classic! A colleca’s item!” as he used to say. He had a brilliant mind that gave him a sharp tongue but always allowed a bit silliness to go with. He would have fit right in with Monty Python’s Flying Circus! Today we all give thanks that he was in our lives.

Here’s a quick version of a story he wrote for a class in high school. A professor was grading papers late at night in his classroom when he paused for a minute and began tapping his pencil on the globe on his desk. He paid attention that he had tapped on the country of Iran. He opens the paper the next morning and the headlines read “Earthquake in Iran kills thousands!” This bothered him a bit and made him wonder. So the next night as the professor is hard at work again he taps on the globe, this time in India. “Cyclone hits India, thousands dead and missing!” is the next morning’s news. Now the professor thinks that there is something really going on here and starts feeling responsible for the recent catastrophic disasters. He has to tell someone. He remembers his friend, the science professor across campus and calls to tell him he’s on his way with something very exciting indeed. He runs into the classroom and grabs the globe. He hurries down the hallway and out of the building’s big front doors. At the top of the tall concrete steps and heading down he loses his footing and trips. The globe goes flying.
End of story.

His songs were masterful and melodic but if you listen to the lyrics, like the story, there was always a bit of tragedy there too. There was always a touch of heartbreak, even in the most rockin’ of tunes. David never seemed happy inside except for the moments he was making other people happy, whether he was on stage or not. His happiness began and ended with other people’s laughter and joy. So listen to his songs today or any other day and make David happy. Hopefully, Jack and I can get The Woods box set together next year so there will be more happiness to go around!
Have a great Thanksgiving! Love, peace and happiness to all!

1 comment:

Leftenant Reg? said...

Thanks for sharing that, man!