Robby Greenberg called me yesterday to share some sorrowful news. Ford passed away from complications of COVID-19.
Most of you remember him as the wheelchair-bound young man who transcended his disabilities in pursuit of his passion for music. At the Labyrinth Cafe, he was always front and center, sometimes shouting out a comment, and fighting his instinct to sing along unless the audience was given permission to do so. Thank you to Amy Carol Webb for always allowing, and encouraging, him. I even unexpectedly ran into him at an Avett Brothers concert a few years ago at a Boca outdoor amphitheatre!
At our last Labyrinth Cafe concert in May 2019, I had a long list of acknowledgements, one of which was to Ford for having attended the most concerts in my 14-year run as coordinator, and probably even before that under Robby's tutelage. I know he used to be one of Robby's clients, and was a regular at River of Grass shows too.
RobbyG, is there something we as the sf_folk community can do to let his parents (Reid and Barbara) know just how special Ford was to us? A collection, a plaque, something named in his honor? Please ponder and let us know how we can put into tangible terms our deeply emotional connection with this dear man who had an unbridled love for the songs.
Amy Carol Webb shared this on her Facebook page:
My dear friends and family, if you attended any concert of mine in Broward County over the last decade (at least!) you will remember my friend, Ford. With great sadness, I am sorry to tell you he died last week from COVID-19. Ford always sat in the front row, and sang with full-hearted gusto -- especially, "When the Horses Go Down to the Water." Every time I came to the closing of that song -- "Mama calls us up around the kitchen table, lifts her hands and offers ...... thanks" -- I waited to hear Ford's voice finish the phrase with me with his hands raised high in the air. It was a precious moment we shared every show. Thank you, Ford. I will miss you, and forever hear you singing when I lift my hands, and offer thanks.
RobbyG posted to our River of Grass UU Congregation Joys and Concerns yesterday morning, and I wish I had copied-and-pasted so I could quote her accurately. Ford had Cerebral Palsy, and was one of her clients (she is an advocate for developmentally disabled adults) as far back as 20 years ago. When she found out he was a Deadhead, she promptly introduced him to the folk community (and him to us), thus beginning his joyful dedication to our music.
There were many lovely comments on the sf_folk list, in response to my initial post. He was *always* there and, even though live concerts are on hiatus right now, it is hard to imagine a world without Ford when we are able to resume... 💔
SONG: Uncle John's Band by The Grateful Dead
BOOK: Tiny the God by Becky Brooks (thanks to River of Grass UU Congregation for using this lovely story as the cornerstone of yesterday's lovestreaming (TM Amy Carol Webb) service)
POEM: Like You by Roque Dalton (translated by Jack Hirschman)
Like you I
love love, life, the sweet smell
of things, the sky-blue
landscape of January days.
And my blood boils up
and I laugh through eyes
that have known the buds of tears.
I believe the world is beautiful
and that poetry, like bread, is for everyone.
And that my veins don’t end in me
but in the unanimous blood
of those who struggle for life,
love,
little things,
landscape and bread,
the poetry of everyone.
QUOTE: "I hereby appoint you a dissident Bodhisattva in charge of overthrowing the sour and crippled mass hallucination that is mistakenly called "reality," and replacing it with an authentic reality built on the principles of insurrectionary beauty, ingenious love, voracious curiosity, ecstatic gratitude, and reverent justice." ~ Rob Brezsny
