I checked Mudcat last night just before I went to bed, and I found this thread about an hour after it started. I was shocked and saddened at the time, and it was hard to get to sleep. Since then, though, I've been thinking happy thoughts of Sandy. I met him when I was 51 years old, and he has always called me "lad." Thinking of that makes me smile.

Since I heard of Sandy's death, two songs have been going through my head. One is Put It on the Ground, which is the first and only song Sandy and I ever sang as a duet - sitting at a picnic table at the Getaway in 1999, about fifteen minutes after I first met him in person. There may be an obvious reason why we never sang as a duet after that, but we sure had fun singing it.

Put it on the ground,
Spread it all around;
Rake it with a hoe,
It will make your flowers grow.

The second song is All the Good People. It was written by Ken Hicks, but Sandy sang it solo on one of the Golden Ring records, and Folk-Legacy holds the copyright. I've loved that song since I first heard it:

This is a song for all the good people,
All the good people who've touched up my life.
This is a song for all the good people,
People I'm thanking my stars for tonight.

It's not a perfect song. It has a bit of chauvinism and some clumsy lyrics - but it's full of love and wisdom. Sandy wasn't a perfect man - but he, too, was full of love and wisdom. I'll remember him every time I sing those two songs.
Thank you, Sandy, for all the wisdom and kindness you have shared with all of us.

-Joe Offer-