If there is anything "positive", and I use the word carefully, about Gord's illness, it's that I have had a lot of people tell me that they heard about his hospitalization and it bothered them. I was in college in the mid 70's, and everyone on my dorm floor had no doubt that I was a Lightfoot fan, his records were constantly on my turntable during the hours it was ok to play some music after the heavy-duty studying was done.
I have kept in touch with most of those people, and I have had e-mails, phone calls and personal conversations with many of them who wanted to know how he was doing. They figured I would have been keeping up to date with his progress. It's interesting....even friends of mine who never bought a Lightfoot album, 8-track, cassette or CD were unsettled about the fact that he was not well. It's like us babyboomers not wanting to admit that time moves on and perhaps some of the people from our past may not be with us in the future. By now these friends are 44-50 years old and 63 certainly does not seem very old to them now. I am very happy to note that the media both here in the US, and of course in Canada have taken a few moments to realize that Gord is a part of the fabric of our lives, that he is one of the most decorated civilian celebrities in history and that he is still out there, playing his songs to people who want to hear them. I think when Gord gets back on his feet and resumes his place among the world's finest performers, he will enjoy a renewed interest in not only his music but his continued well-being.
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