A small story.

On Sunday, I attended a concert by Michael Franti up here in Vancouver. It started out with a small speech from him, and then a movie screening. Bascially, he took his guitar, some friends, and a video camera to Iraq, The Westbank, and The Gaza Strip. He was tired of hearing on TV the cost of the war, the financial implications, and wanted to hear from the people. Good movie, for those who are interested, [link] . As soon as I arrived at the show, I immediately thought of John. It was his scene, peace lovers, protesters, dreadlocks. After one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen, Michael sang one of his band's (Spearhead) most popular songs, entitled "Bomb the World".

We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can't bomb it into peace.
And i sing power to the peaceful
Love to the people y'all
Power to the peaceful
Love to the people y'all

It was right around this time I realized John had been at the show with me the whole time.

After the show, I got a chance to speak to Michael. I told him of how much his work (both musically and politically) had meant to me, and of what John had done, and of the bench to be dedicated to him, and its inscription. He said the world needed more people like John. It was all i could do to nod in agreement.