I promised myself not to contribute further to this thread, for I would not know where to stop, but WYSIWYG reminded me that one of Rick's great contributions to those who are learners is a kind of courage to try anything, to make a fool of oneself in the pursuit of music for the hell of it, to abandon the purist pursuit and the fear -- oh, I could never do that, or as well as X, or be part of this..... It is the trying that matters -- one symbol of this is the many instruments of varying kinds that people end up tackling, even just once, thanks to him. What the hell am I doing with this accordion/dulcimer/harmonica/guitar/in my hands? It is his giving of that courage to students tentatively hovering at the wings that is one of his great qualities as a teacher, a quality worth reflecting on, at such a time.

yours,

Peter T.