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| Photo by Ryan Ridgell |
In Hawaii a few months ago, we caught Chicago blues man Dave Specter’s performance (left.) During his show, Dave played Paul Butterfield’s “Born in Chicago” and as I always do whenever I hear that song, I thought of my buddy Doug Courtney.
There is a line in the song “My first friend when down when I was 17” that always makes me think of Doug. (The fact that I was closer to being 21 years old at the time of Doug’s death is addressed in the song’s next verse when it states “My second friend went down when I was 21.”) Together the two verses pretty much sum up my early experiences with a close friend’s untimely death (click here).
Then, just yesterday I was at Trinity Church for Wendi Dean’s father Pat Bowling’s Memorial Service. It was a nice tribute to someone that I wish I’d known better. As I always do whenever I’m at Trinity, I stopped by to say hello to Doug. Can’t believe that it has now been 50 years. Hold your friends close.
