To say my heart is broken is a study in understatement. Jed, Rick, and I all met at the FSGW Getaway in Havre de Grace. We all immediately became fast friends. Jed and I both had long red hair tied in a ponytail. We both had goatees. We looked like brothers. He was tall,, so was I. We performed with Rick at the evening concert. Rick said, as he stood between, that was the first time he ever thought of himself as a little guy. That weekend the trio came by the name of The Beef Brothers. Rick introduced Jed and I into that marvelous Toronto folk community. Jed and I took a ramble out there, that is when we met Paul Mills. We recorded Desolation Island on that trip.When Rick got sick, and the end was near, he anointed Paul to take his place as the third Beef Brother. Jed and I took a number of rambles together

Our political conversations were intense. We had very different views. But we both agreed that politics should never come between friends. He always characterized our discussions as being “fierce agreement”.

This musical brother of mine was one of the most gifted songwriters and instrumentalists I ever met. To this day I perform a half dozen of his creations on a regular basis. His love song to his beloved Lou was the title track on Soul of a Wanderer. The Banks of the Mobile, about a Civil War nurse who helped Blue and Gray soldiers as they passed over brought this old Veteran to tears. We were doing final mix down with Paul at Millstream. He had painted such a picture with his lyrics that I sat there with tears running down my face. The Locket, The story of his Mom’s life as she succumbed to dementia, reminds us that it doesn’t matter that our loved ones can’t remember our names “Will she know my name at all, and does it really matter after all”. Just think on the depth of understanding in those lyrics.

Jed, your voice is easily found in those of us that were your friends. I am playing a Festival the first weekend in June. I am going to insert Desolation Island and Prayer from Little Round Top in the show. I hope you will approve of my version. I will miss our phone conversations, my friend. To Lou and the family, I ache for your loss. I was never once with Jed, or talking to Jed, that he wasn’t speaking with love and pride about you all.

Mick