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Really nice, Wayne, both your touching tribute to David and the conceit of your conversations with him from Dave's Place. You can be sure my only sibling was there the night he hit that plateau about a year after the last talk with David you report here. Francis Fisher (1942-2021) was not a musician or Jewish, but long association with his best friend Michael Lipton, who is both, convinced him he was the latter in his soul. He just made musicians sound their best as an engineer. (One night when he was on the board for a show at Town Hall, e.g., I overheard the manager of a big singer-songwriter national star ask him to keep her guitar tuned down during her set.) Francis and his other best friend Larry Groce co-founded a weekly nationally syndicated NPR mixed music show. He engineered every show but one for nearly 40 years till a few weeks before blood cancer sent him to Dave's joint, where he must run into a lot of folks he knew. (His cancer was radiation-based; he designed, installed, and maintained his state's NPR microwave tower network.) Unlike your mother, he was never able to kick nicotine longterm, so I hope she likes him since he must be seated near her. He'll never convince her of his secret Jewishness, but I hope she indulges him. I'm sure David does. —diane f

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Thanks so much, Diane. That's a lovely story. It's been 16 years since my brother's gone. I stopped getting clear signals from him three years ago. 2020 and Covid, too much atmospheric congestion, and I'm sure Dave's Place was overwhelmed, as I lost two cousins and my father (at 96) within a few months; the pandemic was "the joke explained" and wasn't funny anymore. I know quite a few people who think they are secretly Jewish, including the son of a friend in Tennessee; the friend is an Episcopal lay preacher, but she totally gets it! Thank you for continuing to read, I'm delighted, and thrilled by your comments.

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And today the great salsa pianist, bandleader, and producer Larry Harlow. He's getting much too much business. Thanks for reading and subscribing, Mindy.

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I await Charlie Watts’ arrival at Dave’s Place.

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I really enjoyed this Wayne! Cheers to your Brother, Mother and Father and everyone else in the Next Good Place!

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Thanks so much, Nick. Glad you enyoyed it.

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Thank you for sharing.

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Thanks Dawn. I hope you'll consider subscribing.

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