Glistening coffee eyes deeply peering through mounds of rich, bearded head disarmingly kind, evoking trust the look of a sorrowful past, he graciously smiled and unhurriedly spoke taken aback, taking me seriously “No one has ever asked for that song it has never been recorded I am surprised you even know it.” For a few seconds we looked, but said nothing for this moment felt somehow large maybe they could play it the next time in town a song of his brother’s fight to stay alive we could not have known that in the months to follow, “cures” would shear the head of this Lamb too and I would send his own words back to him for courage: “Pay no mind to the vultures and the vultures will fly off again” I wonder, if, upon hearing the news he recalled this exchange at a bar in MN and it gave him chills like it did to me
The bearded head and song lyrics belong to David Lamb of Brown Bird, who has been fighting Leukemia for nearly a year. This is the song: http://www.npr.org/event/music/160606867/brown-bird-folks-tattooed-troubadours
Update 4-1-14 David has been intubated, put on a ventilator and began dialysis. He has been stable since then, but remains in critical condition. :(