Everytime I sit and think about the times I was fortunate enough to live in, I am overwhelmed at the giants that I have lived among. Think about the amazing figures that we have all witnessed the coming and going of. I don't have to list all the names, but the Kennedys, Jean Ritchie, Martin, Malcom, Pete Seeger, Miriam Makeba, all the great civil rights heroes, the great blues and folk singers, you all can fill in the blanks with the names. And as you build that list, right there at the top will be a wee woman with a huge voice, a bigger heart, a presence that made your ears pop when she walked out on stage. She will have taught you lessons about the human condition. She will have made you feel the struggle of the working stiff. Her voice will have reached inside you and made your heart resonate like a tuning fork. And that same voice will have made your soul ring like a bell of finest silver.

She has gotten away from us now, but figures like her never really can leave us. Death really has no power over her kind. Their immortality was insured in the power of the voice, in the power of the message, in the conviction of the words, and in the imprint they leave on the essence of our very being. And so it is with her.

Odetta ..... the very name means wealth. And indeed she was proof that the real wealth of humans lies in the wisdom, talent, toughness, and grace with which they walk the path. In that case, she was riches personified. And we are all the wealthier for having known her. Thank you, Greatest One, for letting me bear witness to such a life as this.

Mick