"If wishes were horses…"

…my daughter Leah and I would not only have a ranch, it would be in the Snake River Valley facing the Grand Tetons. Wishes came so true for us last evening at the Grand Opera in Wilmington.

A devoted fan for over twenty years to music that has done nothing less than stir (and lay bare) my soul, cut to the chase and deal out some Truth, it’s been only about two years since my daughter confiscated my ipod. Although it contained hundreds of great songs, for Leah, it was always about Miss Lucinda. At a pretty young age, she too was captivated by the voice, the emotion, the songwriting artistry, the musicianship of my all-time favorite. The bonus was provoking simple questions regarding ultimate and, yes, often difficult truths. Hey, she’s eight, so no, I couldn’t and cannot answer them all, and yes, I had her out past midnight on a school night. I do feel, however, that Moms and/or Dads are the ones that should be attepting to answer, deal with and be the source of understanding of the inevitable adult themes and the questions they provoke. And much important education happens outside of the clasroom.

She’s still 100% a kid – jus’ loves Lu!

Anyway, I also want to thank Mr. Overby and Miss Lucinda for their incredibly warmth, sincerity and graciousness during our visit after the show. We waited a bit after you infused us with an evening’s worth of Joy, and leah was out-of-her-head excited: “Dad, she hugged me three times!” You were so kind and generous, and we both thank you both for that.

And for giving a taste – to both of us – of how Sweet this Sweet Old World can be…

Rich and Leah in Philadelphia