An Unobserved Anniversary

I'm sure there were those who paid attention to it, but I saw no recognition in the media that October 12 was the 10th anniversary of the death of singer/composer John Denver.

Denver, who died in an experimental airplane crash, was 53. He was also one of my mother's favorite singers. Like Denver, my mother died before her time. She was 63 when her life was taken in a flash flood in 1995.

It was hard to pigeonhole Denver. Some people thought he was a country singer, some people thought he was a folk singer, others thought he performed soft and pop rock. The truth was that he performed all those genres in a way that was uniquely his.

His music was relentlessly cheerful and sweet, but it also had a poignance and a mellow quality. I enjoyed listening to his music as a teenager, and I still listen to it when I hear it on the radio. I appreciated his support of environmental causes, and I think his voice would have added a meaningful dimension to the debate over global warming today.

His music is a reminder to me of a time in my life when things were simpler. Or at least they seemed that way.

And I guess I'll never hear one of his songs without thinking about my mother and how much I miss her.

Thanks for the memories, John.