I will miss Barry at every Getaway of the future. He and I found a shared interest in Prison Work Songs and we bantered quite a bit on the early Mudcat. Barry had a party for Mudcatters one year at his house in Vermont, I believe. Marge and I drove up from Baltimore to attend. It was very uncharacteristic of me to drive that far to meet a bunch of people I only knew via the Internet. It was probably about 3:00 PM when we got there. Of course the party had been going on for a while by then. I grabbed a seat in the song circle between Kendall and BigChuck. I stayed until after Midnight and I think I left my seat once to take a restroom break. Marge spend some time with Justine and I met Natalie and Gabriel. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Marge and I spent the night in a motel and headed back to Maryland.

I also had the honor of sharing a workshop on Prison Songs with Barry at the Prince William Getaway. His was the first voice I heard as I pulled up to the park. Yes, with Barry there was no holding back. He was fully involved in his music. Barry was also quite a scholar. He was well-read about the Work Songs and Sea Shanteys and the work that went with them. He had a prodigious memory.

My condolences to his family. I'm sure we will sing for him at the next Getaway.

Roger in Baltimore