Of all the human experiences, listening to and enjoying music can be the most "soulful," an experience which differentiates humans from all of God's other creatures.
In that regard, it was only after his death that we
learned of John's love of the Dave Mathews Band (DMB) and how he was the one to introduce his little brother Mike to their music. Since then, Mike & Gina have become veritable DMB groupies. The Saturday before last, after attending a DMB concert the night before, Mike and Gina took John's Mom & Dad to their first Dave Matthews Band concert at the Nissan Pavilion in Northern Virginia. It proved to be a truly memorable experience.
It was there, while tailgating in the parking lot before the concert, that Mike pulled out a bottle of champagne. While Mom thought that they were about to offer a toast to buying a new house, Dad knew intuitively what the toast was for -- to us becoming grandparents for the first time.
The joy of realizing that Mike and Gina were to become parents themselves was overwhelming. And in a very special way, it was entirely appropriate to learn of this extraordinarily happy news at a Dave Matthews Band concert -- a place where we were able to be in touch with JW's music loving soul. It is now also the place where we first realized that JW is about to become Uncle Johnny -- a role he will fulfill in the same extraordinary way he did as a son, brother, fiance, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend extraordinaire. For John's legacy continues to live on and he continues to touch the everyday lives of so many. And now, he will have the opportunity to touch the lives of future generations as well.
The circle of life continues.
