Sad Goodbye

Let me tell you about our friend Joe. Joe introduced our family to the MacKenzies and the Portland Scottish folks back in the early 80's. And needless to say it changed my life. It changed all our lives. For years Joe shuttled Jenny, Amy and I to Lake Oswego for dance lessons with My Marianna. He invited us to piping and drumming events. He was crazy tall when he put on his Clan Band hat. He was kind. He was kind and good hearted. He was a kind, gentle and good hearted man when I did not know that a father could be those things. Those are some of the things he was to me. A warm memory that I'll always cherish. He was a monumental figure in the drumming community. Not only extremely talented, but giving in his time and committment to the craft and to those who shared his passion. As I write this, there's a mass gathering back home of people that love him paying tribute through prayer, pipes, drums and drink. So I raise my glass to our dear friend, who bravely fought the brain tumor that took him in only 6 months, and thank you for the beautiful way in which you touched our lives. We'll see you again Joe.