>You've said very well what I've been feeling. > >And I guess it's only natural to second guess ourselves, telling ourselves that we didn't really "know" this person - not the way we know close friends and relatives and those we just pick up the phone to shoot the breeze with. So why are we so upset when they pass, we wonder. I've thought this before when I've been deeply saddened by the passing of someone whose music I've loved. > >But the thing we realize is that we did know the person. We felt them inside. Their music weaved a tapestry in and out and all around our lives for many, many years. We "grew up" with them in our lives, we marked special occasions with their songs, we felt at home whenever we heard them singing. And then suddenly that precious gift is taken away and we're left reeling. > >Yeah, I've been back to this forum over and over ever since it happened. I was by no means a regular forum visitor over the years - only popped in now and then. But I've loved Kenny Rankin's music ever since the first time I heard Silver Morning way back in the 1970s. And I'm so very sad to know that he's gone, so very sad to know that I'll never again get the chance to see him perform live - to again be amazed by his crystal clear voice and his incredible range or to have him make me chuckle with his banter. > >I do sincerely hope that Kenny knew how much his music meant to so many of us - even those of us he didn't see all the time. > > So beautifully said, teejay, thank you so much. I'm sure many of us have clung to this forum as a way of keeping our connection to Kenny and his music alive. I certainly have, and I'm sorry to say I hadn't been here much at all before last week, but at least I can linger here a while and read not only the expressions of condolence, but the lovely recollections that others who knew or encountered Kenny have shared here. They are wonderful, heartwarming vignettes that give me a little more insight about him and even more comfort at his loss.
I can't change the fact that I missed out on seeing Kenny in live performance, but at least I can honor his memory in my own very small way by sharing his music with others, especially younger generations. That's something I've already been doing, and will continue to do in the years to come.
