My last entry had me thinking a lot about that first week of April, 1990. As I said, Farm Aid IV was in town, with lots of celebrities and fans everywhere. Paul Shaffer, (David Letterman's music director) came stumbling into the restaurant, alone, very drunk, and was hungry. I got him a light snack, then had a bellman take him to his room. Heh.
But this story is really about something else. Or someone else. A hero by the name of Ryan White. Many of you may remember Ryan, a young man, suffering with AIDS before the days of AIDS awareness. Ryan was befriended by many people, including Elton John. Ryan, 18 that year, was hospitalized here at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, by this time on life support, and under constant watch by his amazing mother, Jeanne. Elton spent a lot of time at the hospital that week. He was not here to play at FarmAid, he was here for Ryan. On the day of the FarmAid concert, April 7, Elton surprised the audience of with an impromtu set, in which he dedicated the song "Candle in the Wind" to Ryan White. Ryan died the next day. Elton reprised the song three days later, at Ryan's funeral.
Whenever I hear about Elton John, I think about this week in 1990. He lost a friend, but was still strong enough to help us all deal with the loss of a boy who deserved so much more than he ever received.
1 comment:
Aww, I remember Ryan White! At the concert on Friday, before he sang "Candle in the Wind", Elton mentioned that when they wrote the song, he never guessed it would end up having three incarnations. I knew one of them was for Princess Di, but I was racking my brain for the third. Now I remember!
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