Pete with his knit cap looked like he had just wandered in from trapping beaver, or maybe sailing on a clipper ship. What a great moment for him, and for us, as he symbolized a bridge from Woody Guthrie and the social revolution of the 1930s to Obama and the new century. He looked like a living embodiment of our history and of our music's history, and of the joy and pride we have every right to feel in both.

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

That stanza pretty much says what the spirit of my country is all about.