FW: Tary
Judith M. Herr
herrj@comcast.net
Mon, 22 Sep 2003 08:23:32 -0700
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-----Original Message-----
From: Remembrances of Austin Ghetto [mailto:GHETTO2@LISTS.WHATHELPS.COM]
On Behalf Of John Moyer
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2003 10:36 PM
To: GHETTO2@LISTS.WHATHELPS.COM
Subject: Tary
Sept. 22, 2003
About Tary,
From the e-mail I have been reading, a lot of you children don't seem
to understand what happened to Tary. I don't know exactly what he was
thinking, but I do understand his actions. He had struggled his whole
life to contribute something to his fellow man. (I mean human, I am not
sexist about this and neither was Tary). He was persuing his dream and
his desire for a good life, and did a lot of good things as best he knew
how. When he got knocked down by throat cancer, he kept his attitude
about creativity, even though he could no longer sing.
There was a period of several years when I did not keep in contact with
Tary, but when we re-united last May at the reunion, we still seemed to
understand each other. He had developed into a real blues musician
after years of just hanging in there and learning the style and meaning.
That's the way all the greats do it.
When we were younger he was always dedicated to his work and his love
for music and people. We worked together for the Archives of Folk Lore
and Oral History at the University of Texas in Austin, where he went out
and found many musicians who played blues and other folk music. He
recorded them playing their music and their stories about their younger
lives and the way things were when they were young, playing music for a
living.
I don't have any idea how he did it, as a lot of his work was in the
poor Black community and he was a congenial White man. But he did it,
using his smarts, and gained a lot of important information for other
folklorists and ethnomusicologists, of which I was one.
When the end was coming, he recognized it and acted accordingly, in my
opinion. He had become bedridden because of the cancer and the
disability it caused. He was only still alive because the doctors knew
how to keep his body functioning with drugs. As he realized there was
no hope for recovery, the part of his brain that was still functioning
through the heavy drugs, he grew tired. We can all understand the need
to go home, where there aren't any hassles or discomforts. He wanted to
get some rest from his life, so he disconnected himself. I applaud his
decision, and think that I would do the same thing if I suffered the
same way he did.
He was my friend for 43 years, even though we were not close for many
of them. I knew him in our formative years, before we came to Austin,
and after as well. There are some people I know that I feel certain
bonds with, differing in each case with the person. Even when we were
not in contact, I felt we had certain similar attitudes toward how to
get through this life we are all caught in. When we renewed our
friendship last May at the Re-union, I found that I was right. He had
become a blues singer and songwriter, playing guitar to accompany
himself, and had a band called the Texas Redemptors.
I am proud to have known him, and for him to have known me. I am also
proud that he accomplished so much in both his performances and his
collection and distribution of what is often called ethnic music, which
I suppose most of it is.
It is always sad to me when a person, especially a friend, who has
accomplished many of the things he wanted, dies. At the same time, when
anyone gets to the state in which Tary was, knows how to conduct the
rest of his life, as he has always done. I support him and his decision
in every way, and agree with his assesment of his situation.
These are my thoughts now, but I don't think they will change much.
Sincerely,
John Moyer
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<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D2 =
face=3DTahoma><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----Original =
Message-----<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> Remembrances of =
Austin
Ghetto [mailto:GHETTO2@LISTS.WHATHELPS.COM] <b><span =
style=3D'font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>John Moyer<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> </span></font><font =
size=3D2 face=3DTahoma><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Sunday,
September 21, 2003</span></font><font size=3D2 face=3DTahoma><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> </span></font><font
size=3D2 face=3DTahoma><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>10:36 =
PM</span></font><font
size=3D2 face=3DTahoma><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'><br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> =
GHETTO2@LISTS.WHATHELPS.COM<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> =
Tary</span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font
size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>Sept. 22, 2003</span></font>
</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>About Tary,<br>
From the e-mail I have been reading, a lot of you children =
don’t
seem to understand what happened to Tary. I don’t know =
exactly what
he was thinking, but I do understand his actions. He had struggled =
his
whole life to contribute something to his fellow man. (I mean =
human, I am
not sexist about this and neither was Tary). He was persuing his =
dream and
his desire for a good life, and did a lot of good things as best he knew
how. When he got knocked down by throat cancer, he kept his =
attitude
about creativity, even though he could no longer sing. <br>
There was a period of several years when I did not keep in contact =
with
Tary, but when we re-united last May at the reunion, we still seemed to
understand each other. He had developed into a real blues musician =
after
years of just hanging in there and learning the style and meaning.
That’s the way all the greats do it. <br>
When we were younger he was always dedicated to his work and =
his
love for music and people. We worked together for the Archives of =
Folk
Lore and Oral History at the </span></font>University of Texas in =
Austin, where
he went out and found many musicians who played blues and other folk
music. He recorded them playing their music and their stories =
about their
younger lives and the way things were when they were young, playing =
music for a
living. <br>
I don’t have any idea how he did it, as a lot of his work =
was in
the poor Black community and he was a congenial White man. But he =
did it,
using his smarts, and gained a lot of important information for other
folklorists and ethnomusicologists, of which I was one. <br>
When the end was coming, he recognized it and acted accordingly, =
in my
opinion. He had become bedridden because of the cancer and the =
disability
it caused. He was only still alive because the doctors knew how to =
keep
his body functioning with drugs. As he realized there was no hope =
for
recovery, the part of his brain that was still functioning through the =
heavy
drugs, he grew tired. We can all understand the need to go home, =
where
there aren’t any hassles or discomforts. He wanted to get =
some rest
from his life, so he disconnected himself. I applaud his decision, =
and
think that I would do the same thing if I suffered the same way he =
did.
<br>
He was my friend for 43 years, even though we were not close for =
many of
them. I knew him in our formative years, before we came to Austin, =
and
after as well. There are some people I know that I feel certain =
bonds
with, differing in each case with the person. Even when we were =
not in
contact, I felt we had certain similar attitudes toward how to get =
through this
life we are all caught in. When we renewed our friendship last May =
at the
Re-union, I found that I was right. He had become a blues singer =
and
songwriter, playing guitar to accompany himself, and had a band called =
the
Texas Redemptors. <br>
I am proud to have known him, and for him to have known me. =
I am
also proud that he accomplished so much in both his performances and his
collection and distribution of what is often called ethnic music, which =
I
suppose most of it is. <br>
It is always sad to me when a person, especially a friend, who has
accomplished many of the things he wanted, dies. At the same time, =
when
anyone gets to the state in which Tary was, knows how to conduct the =
rest of
his life, as he has always done. I support him and his decision in =
every
way, and agree with his assesment of his situation. <br>
These are my thoughts now, but I don’t think they will =
change much.<br>
Sincerely,<br>
John Moyer</p>
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