Just landed in Chicago where we've come
to celebrate my 60th birthday this weekend with my lovely
daughter who opens in a brand new play.
We got awful news en route. Ruleville's
Duff Durrough, one of the most genuinely talented and sweet people
I've known, passed away this morning of liver cancer. Duff was 59. Unless you knew
him, you can't even imagine how many heart-broken friends and
admirers Duff leaves behind.
These last few weeks have been
gut-wrenching. We lost Rick Lambert, our high school class president,
to cancer. We lost Bobby Myrick, a great athlete and great friend, to
a heart attack. Now Duff. All three were either 59 or 60 — in other
words far, far too young. This isn't what I had in mind with 60
fast approaching.
Can't tell you how much better Duff
Durrough made this world. He could play guitar, he could sing, he
could write and he could paint Delta landscapes that take your breath
away. He was as friendly as the Delta is flat. He was like opening a birthday
present every day you were around him. He had that special knack for
making you feel better about yourself.
At my house, we will continue to listen
to Duff and Charlie and Fish and the Tangent band and we will
continue to admire Duff's ineffable artwork. And we will pass it all along. We already have.
Annie, my daughter, had Duff
playing and singing hymns on her I-phone when we got here today. How cool is that?
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