what does daniels family think of his music??

[DWJ]

Doug, your point is well taken.   Maybe I'm sounding a little isolated in my reaction.  Surely, this is part of it - Daniel evokes in others the reaction he intends, but that you might only expect "family" to pay attention to.

Part of the difference, then, may be that I heard the outcry as from my brother - who has always been goodhearted and generous and sometimes careless and foolish.   Those parts are no surprise to me.  That's what he has always been.  For others to see and appreciate that, there is something a little rewarding in that.

Back to how my reaction kept me from seeing whtat others see, maybe it was like hearing someone shouting for help - versus hearing your own child cry for help.  If it is a stranger, you may say "is that child pretending or is that real?", or maybe "that is amazingly realistic and honest!" and then a more rational decision about whether or not YOU need to jump in and help.

I think everyone's appreciation of the "open" and "honest" side of Daniel is well taken.  And many, many friends (if not all of them) at one time or another attempted to respond to the cry with assistance or a rescue.

To those who know him, maybe hearing it creates more of a adrenaline powered fear reaction or even mourning.   Maybe the difference is similar to mouring for someone yourself, or "feeling for" someone you see who is mourning.

I dont' want to over-analyze this except to say that it took a while to understand why others would "bother" to stop and pay attention to my brother in an otherwise not-uncommon life experience.  Lots of people are hurting, lots are suffering.

What Daniel was doing for those others that wasn't immediately apparent to me was he was providing a expressive outlet for others of deep - often un-articulated pain.   And that creates an affinity in them for Daniel.

Okay - like I said - this can be all "over-analyzed".   I do find myself on an investigative path to understand and appreciate what it is that others feel and see when then respond to Daniel.

Back to the point - "it isn't just the pain".  I guess I continue to be naive about the scope of his appeal.  Following a concert in a remote place, we'll get email telling how they heard Dan for the first time and it struck a chord with them - "different" and "honest" and "uplifting" and still "sad".

So there's lots to be understood, and I'm sure we'll all go the rest of our lives understanding more and more about Daniel as well as ourselves.

[The Dentist]

I know this is an old thread, but reading it had me in tears. Thanks Dick for the misty eyes. It's gonna be tough working on my patients this afternoon.

I, in no way, can add anything that Dick has not already said other than, thanks. Just ..... thanks.