Day 6 of the 25 songs in 25 days challenge and I’m more convinced than ever that the list was generated by a 12-year old.
A best friend? Really?
I have many brothers and sisters, some biological, some metaphysical – the idea that there is a best and worst among them is kind of insulting to the scale and scope of my love for each of them.
But the song refers to a best friend, so there you have it.
For five years in the late 80s, I was lucky enough to work resident summer camps in upstate New York – the counselors I worked with, and the kids who returned each year, remain a much-loved extension of my family to this very day
[and every very day that is to come]
I think it’s safe to say that all of us from that period remember, and miss, our brother Henry DeMahy – a genuinely beautiful soul, with an infectious laugh, a sharp wit and a generous, generous heart. There are very few days that pass without my thinking of Henry in some way – I remember laughter, MUCH laughter, and I remember Henry singing along to Stevie Ray, whether he was on the stereo or not – quiet moments when he’d be working his art, humming away, gently crooning Cold Shot, Tin Pan Alley or Life Without You.
So, it’s only natural that when I think of a song that represents everything that Henry was about, and everything he means to me, and us, it would have to be Life Without You:
I miss you brother, and hear you singing this every time we meet in dreams.
