Dear River,
Where do I begin? My God, has it really been
almost six years? It's a new year now.
1999, can you believe it? I am the same age as you
were when you left this earth. I feel older--Old--
but somehow I attribute that to the experience of
death first hand---
The one thing that I have learned is the nothing is
certain and permanent, except Impermanence....
I am sure that you can see from where you are,
but can you feel the chill in the air?
Can you hear the sounds of childhood laughter?
I pray that you can.
I want to believe that you are with us,
walking among us.
Feeling these things for yourself,
with your own senses,
I want to know that you still enjoy life in some way, in some form.
I have a lot to tell you.
I am your age now,
sweetheart--
Jesus Christ, can you imagine that?
You are frozen in time, and I grow, grow, and grow---
and one more thing you will be happy to hear:
I have still held fast to those beliefs
that you painstakingly tried to get
across to people to share with you.
I have never forgotten you,
and the things that you have taught me.
I can still hear your voice,
and see your face,
and the way that you could always look
into a person's eyes and feel their pain, and the way
that you would arch your eyebrow at someone when they perplexed
or intrigued you---that patented River--"come again" look that
so many of us loved so very much.
They are trying to release your music now too.
I hope you know that.
Maybe, just maybe, with a little bit of luck,
the world will be able to hear your music,
just like you have always wanted.
That would be a fitting tribute, don't you agree?
I will close now.
I just want you to know
that I still love you for who you are,
and above all else, I still respect you.
You will always be my biggest inspiration.
Thank you so much for your gift to me,
and to all of us.
