Sad to hear today of Steven’s passing from us, Spurrier spurred me on in Pari and later in Bordeaux

we chanced to meet at Vin Expo with Philippe Mellot / Quel chance ca mes amis dumvin la en ville en Bordeaux / It was both my first and lasr time to buy and sell so , Many French wines of La Belle France, tot 1980"s et / Cherchons ensemble des tres bobs achats et vibs Francais! / And we chanced tonsee Steven, be saw me and smiled and Approached to say hello, what a surprise and big thrill / For me,mfor when i knew him i was just a young American / lad of twenty then 21 taking my first wine class at his/ Patricia's and Jon's Wine Class, their first or second / Of l' Academie du Vin a Paris meme 1974 je croix!? / Comme Jacques Brel : " J" avais juste vingt ans ... " / Et moi juste vingt et un ans! quel cadeau de ma mere / Et pere a Paris dans les annees soixante dix! merci ma / Mere / Et mon pere,mPatricia, Jon les deux Americains de Delaware et / Pour Jon je ne sais pas, pour Steve d'Angleterre! vraiment tout/ Ca , merci infinement! i loved it all so in my youthful artsy years/ And even moreso now with more wine and blue moons in my belly / And tucked firmly, surely,msometimes sorely under my belt! we will all miss youbSteven, thanks for everything et bon voyage / Bon continuation, may you find some share of the wines we all here/ On earth in every country refer happily and smiling 'nthe angel's share '! a la prochaine mon ami Anglais!

The muse is here and now with me and enters my thoughts frequently niw, I just have to pause and focus a d a thought hits me quick, then a line follows, perhaps two or three before I pause once more

i love my life, i feel special, somehow selected / By it lrotected, call it the luck of the Irish yeah/ And Saint Patrick's Day is so close now, i have my / Shiny plastjc deep Cadmium green chain w/ shamrock! It, too brings me luck, moreso warmth, a broad smile / That i often feel though might nit always wear for you/ It is there, i know, it lights me up, fires my guts/ hugs my heart, uplifts my thoughts and clears my mind / i am blessed, i am employed by my environment and all / Those of us that need a voice to ring, to jar, to rattle/ You cannot get away with murder, the crippling of others/ The intentional disregard for human life other than yours / Gou are not a saint because you make more money,muse people's / 0 Kindness and weaknesses to rob them blind without a care, a / Rearward looking back on your selfish eletist fast track / Grow a heart, grow a soul, grow a conscience, ask earn my -/ Resoect for we are equal, we celebrate women this month / We always should,mminorities and anyone else than white peops / We are all equal and deserve to be treated fairly, oais equally, / I see how i have been blind so long to so many plights of ithers / o more! i will fight for equality fir all, i will use myself / A 67 year old mature white man that can set a example both for/ Myself and others because both daily and nightly I must check / Myself, my thoughts, my actions, reactions, behavior, my judge= / me tsbrealizing that i , too, like all of us fall into routine, / So much bad wrong unjust unkind selfish behavior, tjoughts and / i realize that i am still, have been so often bith lazyna d yeah/ Selfish! i cannot live this way anymore, i must be on alert, on / Vigil, on guard, i must do what is right to save myself, help / Others and do everything in my piwer to protect our world so / We may all not be afraid that we might die that day as we wake / Up at the hand of another white man that thinks, fervently believes / That he is better than another, that he is the chisen one,mthat he/ Has every right to put down others and make their lives living hells/ No, this must change, we must make room for everyone, it is what i / will focus on for the rest of my life, to be kind, help another.