Well Wishes, From Jim Page

Well wishes....  I'd like to grab everybody and hold them tight. -- so that we can all understand that the light of life comes through in the darkest of times.  It's not just Ricardo -- it's a lot of us.  He's a magnet.  

Ricardo -- Richard -- has always been there when I needed a confidant or just a bit of advice.  We had similar shadows in our childhoods.  We gelled.  He was a major supporter to the arts community.  I first met him when he had his studio down by the Market.  Artis had wanted to make a cassette of what we were doing.  I was hesitant because our performances were immediate and fleeting and there was nothing polished about them at all.  Nothing to listen to without being there. They were "of the moment".  But Richard thought it was a good idea and offered to do the field recording so we went ahead.  And I remember when he gave me the first box he said "It's about time".  If I remember correctly he did the recording gratis, which was frankly the only way we could have afforded it.  He knew who we were.

I went to a couple of his "Away With All Cares" events when he and Jileen still lived in West Seattle.  There were a lot of people in that house and the planned socializing quickly morphed into multiple jam sessions.  Then he moved away. 

Ricardo is a great musician.  He writes great songs and arranges them with his band to be recorded and performed live in his island community.  From the mountain top to the valley.  His reasons for creating are solid and true.  They are not empty melodies.  

I don't know how he is right now but I'd like to speak to him.  And I'd like to say, "You have touched me, old friend.  And I will feel that touch for a long time." 

All my love.... Jim