The Death Of Richard Wright

Lost in the news of Hurricane Ike and the windstorm that hit Louisville was the quiet death of Richard Wright. Who is Richard Wright? He was a founding member and keyboard player for the great rock band Pink Floyd. He passed away a few days ago from cancer at the age of 65. Pink Floyd is one of my very favorite rock bands. Their songs have been part of the sound track of my life. I was able to see them on five different occasions. The first time was with my friend, Tom, way back in 1971 at a small venue in Cincinnati called the Taft Theater. Tom and I were 20 years old and the tickets cost $4.00. This concert is now considered legendary and I consider it one of the great musical experiences of my life. A few years later when I left the monastery, one of the first things my friend Tom did was take me to a Pink Floyd concert. That was quite a culture shock after living in a monastery. Richard Wright was never the star of Pink Floyd and he was rarely in the spotlight. However, he had much to do with the "Pink Floyd Sound", especially in their early years. Even someone in a supporting role can make a significant contribution. I'm sure some of you are Pink Floyd fans but others may not be familiar with them. Pink Floyd is one of the few rock bands that could rival the Rolling Stones in terms of filling up stadiums and generating ticket sales and CD purchases. To give you an idea of their worldwide popularity, their "Dark Side of the Moon" album was in the top 100 albums for 14 years! Here are what I consider their three most popular albums with most people. My personal favorites, however, are titled "Meddle", and especially the song called "Echoes", along with "Atom Heart Mother".

The Dark Side of the Moon
Wish You Were Here
The Wall

After I got home on Wednesday night and discovered I had power I wore myself out. I did all the laundry, ran the dishwasher, finished cleaning out the refrigerator, washed out the condiment containers so I could add them to my recycle bin, read three days worth of newspapers and about 75 emails. I was almost hyper in my attempts to catch up four days and three nights of "lost" time. After all this time with no power, I felt like a King with the electricity flowing. I like the simple life but I must admit I also like my creature comforts. Doing without them makes me appreciate them all the more.

Now that my power is back on, it will be a Chloe weekend. She is already getting excited about the approach of Halloween. I'm sure she and the Queen will have me hopping this weekend digging out our Halloween decorations. As you drive around town now there are increasing numbers of pumpkins at the local fruit and vegetable stands. At this moment Halloween still seems a long way off but this time of year seems to be on an accelerated schedule. As the holidays approach, the speed of life seems to increase and before you know it, January and a new year have arrived.