Tom Petty

Very few celebrity deaths hit as hard as the news of Tom Petty. This is really a tough one. The fact that he was only three years older than me makes it most real. I have seen him in concert 10-15 times with multiple different groups of friends, and totally different opening acts. He always held nothing back and left everything on the stage. When he would say "Thank you," to the audience following a song, you could tell he really meant it. I saw him multiple times with my daughter Lori Beth. This summer my grandson Gavin saw him with us for the first time and was amazed at how good the show was, how many songs he knew, and how many different ones there were. There is a complete irony there in that he would die on Gavin's birthday. I always drive home after work listening to music or a podcast. Yesterday, I drove in silence, feeling the music had died. I felt the same when Glen Frey died, I am thankful for having enjoyed his music through the years and saddened I will not see him again.