I have had the good fortune to cross paths with Rick twice. At some point between those two times, I consulted with him about a chord pattern I was trying to decipher from an Arlo Guthrie recording. I guess that since Rick had already seen me play guitar, he knew it was not something he could explain to me by way of an email or on the phone. Thus, it was not until he attended the Getaway that he took a few moments to show me how to play the progression and to explain how it fit into the overall scheme of music. I now feel certain that Rick knew in that moment that I had only the slightest grasp of what he tried to impart. I also think he knew that he had planted the seeds for further learning.

Now, I'm not going to tell you that I have since learned to zip through that progression. It just isn't so. But what I learned in that moment with Rick was that not only is there plenty more for me to discover about playing guitar, but also, (and much more importantly,) that one of the very best guitarists anywhere believes that I have what it takes to learn some of it. I cannot explain to you how empowering that is for me. I can only tell you that echoes of the few moments Rick spent with me will continue to resonate throughout whatever guitar playing I do.