I just called my old boss Rick Altman to tell him about Citizen Kafka/aka Ritchie Shulberg, only to be told that Rick had died of complications of pneumonia today. Noone knew he was ill. We are losing too many, dammit! I worked for Rick for 2 and a half years at the Folklore Center in New York in Greenwich Village. Rick took over the store from Israel Young when Izzy couldn't handle the harrassment from the state and went to Sweden. For 10 bucks Rick got the store and the inventory and all the debts, which he tried to pay off. Those were great times, selling instruments, poutting on concerts and occassionally, when he sold an expensive guitar going out to the liquor store, for 3 bottles of booze, Tequila for Rick, Jack Daniels for me, and I think Gin for Eddie Diehl the luthier.
When he couldn't keep the store open any more Rick went to work for the subway system, he always loved trains of any kind. I talked to him a couple of times over the past couple of years since I came West. My heartfelt condolences to his family.

Mark Ross