Thanks to all for your eloquent sympathies. Your posts have had a wonderfully cathartic effect upon me. I was needing to cry but was unable to do so until I read your many kind remarks.

David's premier appearance in the Mudcat world was at Annamill's first (landmark) gathering. Although he was not feeling well and was a bit shy about playing along with so many talented people, he gave it a go. Those who listened carefully got a hint of his tremendous talent on the banjo and dobro. David told me later how excited he had been to see and hear so many highly skilled musicians and songsters in such concentrated form. It was at that gathering that David and I first met Bill Sables - a meeting that would later bear wonderful fruit.

It was largely because of that event that he was inspired to join me on The Mudcat Adventure. It quite nearly broke his heart when the time came that he had to decide not to go; that his health issues would not allow it. However, he was able to meet Bill again in conjunction with The Adventure and it was clear there was a great musical bond between the two men.

It was at that time that David ordered one of Bill Sables' wonderful carved leather straps for David's banjo. When it arrived David was like a kid at Christmas. The strap was one of his most highly prized possessions.

Last year's Getaway was David's first encounter with the FSGW together with the large contingent of 'Catters. In his travels he had attended and/or performed for hundreds of bluegrass festivals, county fairs and the like; but he had never been to a gathering quite like the Getaway. During the past year he often fondly referred to it and to the talented people he met there. He was extremely excited about the prospect of attending again this year.

I was David's driver for most of the many years we knew each other. At first, it didn't have to be that way. I simply love to drive and he enjoyed the luxury of being a passenger. But in recent years it became more of a necessity. We always enjoyed what David called our "road trips". No matter the length of the journey, we rarely bothered to turn on the radio or CD player. Instead we chatted and laughed like a couple of old ladies (or at least, that's how he often described it).

David's secret dream was to be a stand-up comic. It was his sense of humor that kept him going through the rough times. He was undoubtedly the funniest man I have ever known. More than a few times I laughed so hard I could hardly stand. He quoted copiously from Mark Twain, a love for whom we both shared. But David's most humorous stories came from out of his own past. He was never afraid to laugh at himself.

I have known very few people as intelligent as David. He used this gift in a number of excellent ways, the most obvious of which was that he became a doctor. However, it was also manifested in his speaking. He often coined new phrases that I thought to be brilliant. My favorite one was his description of blues lyrics. He called them "the American haiku".

David was a hero. I am not even sure that his family knows that while in the Army, David was involved as a medical officer in a "black ops" rescue mission during which he was captured and tortured. Fortunately, his release was within a few hours of his capture; but the torture damaged him for life.

David was "a friend of Bill W's"; a reformed alcoholic. This past summer he celebrated twenty years of sobriety. I will never know how difficult that must have been for him to accomplish; but I celebrated with him and applauded his success.

I am at a loss as to how to encapsulate a description of such a complex person as David. I can only add that as it is with everybody, he had his foibles and flaws; but I think he tried very hard to be a good man, a gentleman and a friend. It is hard for me to say goodbye to such a man.