That's a great story, Harvey. I was shocked into a similar realization when I heard that Dave Ray has cancer. He lives practically in my backyard, but I seldom went out of my way to hear him, thinking he'll always be around. He's not exactly a busker, but when he performs at bars around town, it's not even mentioned in the newspaper. Out of sight, out of mind. Thanks to the fact that his illness was mentioned in a Mudcat thread, I learned that he has a web site, and was able to catch a recent performance.

I'm not a musician myself, so my way of helping to keep these traditions alive is in my work of tracking down information on the Internet and posting it here. As it's often said here, "I hope this helps."