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Dear Pete:

I saw you onstage for the first time at the Clearwater Festival in 2006. You were 86, onstage with your grandson. He was singing; you were swinging a sledgehammer back and forth, clanking out the rhythm. Backstage, we spoke briefly as we both sat down for lunch with our wives. Looking out into the crowd of people hula-hooping as they enjoyed the music, you said, "Wow, look at those hula hoops! Looks like fun - maybe I should try that." We laughed together; I thought to myself, "Well, some people choose to hula, and some choose to wield mighty hammers..."

Later that day, you quietly strolled up to a shady tree with your banjo, and led an adoring, captivated crowd through some beautiful old songs: a slow, harmony-filled "Amazing Grace," and a rousing "Down By the Riverside." The last song you played I had never heard before: "Well May the World Go." As you sang it, I felt like you were singing it just to me - teaching me the tune. Giving it to me so I could make it my own, sing it with my own voice, pass it back to the world. So I could help make sure the song stays alive, even after we're all gone. You thanked us all for singing, said goodbye, and rambled off. A few minutes later, I saw you walking, banjo on your shoulder, making your way back home... no doubt still humming a tune.

I can only hope that when I'm 86 I'll have that twinkle in my eye, my wife by my side. That I'll play a concert with my grandchild, swing a sledgehammer, teach someone a new song, then stroll away - banjo planted firmly on my shoulder, boots steppin' steady on the ground - and make my way peacefully back home.

Thanks for that unforgettable day at Clearwater, Pete - and most of all, for teaching me that song.

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from Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, released December 10, 2008

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