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Being mentioned with Harry Chapin is a bit more than I could have ever expected, Kevin. Thanks. My wife and I used to drive around Laredo in our Dodge van with his greatest hits cassette playing over and over. Our favorite was, "All My Life's a Circle." We saw him live once at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, and his young son Nathan was with him on stage. It was a great, and memorable night. Thanks for reading, and your kind words.

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Harry's son Jason (from his wife Sandy) was my classmate in high school in Huntington (Long Island). Jono was a year ahead. Went to my first rock concerts at the Nassau Coliseum with Jason and his dad would come to our grade schools to play songs during class. I was in High School when he passed. So sad. But what a legacy he left.

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Jimmy Swaggart at the La Posado poolside bar with a brunette has the makings of a great opening scene to a short story.

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And that is just a couple that I've encountered along the way......no way to ever measure the loss.

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Sad stories, told with compassion and eloquence. Like you, I've known many lives, some of public or semi-public figures, undermined by demon rum and other addictions. The loss of talent and opportunity, in both their individual lives and our society's, is sad.

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Sad story. I suppose most of my stories of Mexico involve drinking. Why is that?

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Wonderful writing that always resonates within me. I was just coming back through Nuevo Laredo two days ago, stopping at dusk in the zocalo to film the swarming of birds. North on I-35 to Austin I flipped channels on Sirius, stopping at singer/songwriter Harry Chapin. His songs and your tales, the characters, the scenes, the visuals... take me away while immersed and stay with me after.

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I miss Laredo and its attendant rites of passage in my youth and on to middle age. But it's gone. I did encounter Jimmy Swaggart in the La Posada poolside bar. He was drinking iced tea but I don't know what the brunette accompanying him was drinking. They made a hasty departure so I didn't have a chance to ask for prayers in my favor. Oh, the memories...

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