Len once had a talk with me about being black--his blackness, not mine--and he opened a world for me. He was very forceful, but inside there was the guy who wrote "To Be a Man", and in there was a very kind heart. He explained what a thumb pick was to me--I'd never seen one before--and talked to me about what it meant to write songs. He was a good man, and he also critiqued my stage performance at Gerde's Folk City, much to my benefit. Thanks for the reminder, Jerry.