Thank you, Gerard. I first heard this song when I was 20, and had my life still in front of me. It seemed so sad and far off.Coming up on 50 now, and buried 2 parents...I learned...to say hello in there.

You know, I got a weird e-mail from you the other day. I just brushed it off to another hacked e-mail account. I didn't say anything because I knew you would have dozens of people let you know. I'm beginning to wonder though...

Joan Armatrading, and now John Prine. Not just any songs from these two artists, but among my favorites.

When I read that e-mail (I was smart enough not to click on the link), did I give you access to my iTunes library?

Again, a wonderful selection. Thanks.

No, you were right. That was a passing hack of the gmail account and I had to reassert control over it. It passed in time but there were, as you assumed, a lot of people letting me know what had happened.

But you are most welcome for the thanks.

About a year ago, I was driving to my house, when I saw an old man walking around by a side street near a very busy highway. I told someone at the Walgreen's next to the side street about him, but he said nothing.

I left my car at the Walgreen's and approached the man. At first, I spoke to him in English, when I realized he was not from around here (TX), but from Costa Rica. I switched to Spanish-speaking mode immediately, and I remained there with him for a good hour.

It turns out he lives at a nice house his daughter owns near the Walgreen's, that he has lived in the States for decades, and that he was naturalized kind of recently. He visits his friends in Costa Rica whenever he can, but he prefers to stay here near her daughter and grandchildren. I also noticed that he has a memory problem. Dementia? Perhaps. He kept showing me pictures of his grandchildren, and often - I'd say, about fifteen times. He also told me that he loves to walk around that neighborhood and in other areas farther from the Walgreen's, even into the ranch area near my house. (There are several ranches nearby.) He knows all those people and he chats and has lunch with them. He sure has a more interesting life than me, even after thinking he walks around an area that is very close to a very busy highway, which is soon to become expanded and toll-booth-ridden, just outside of Houston. Yeah, that's why I stopped to chat with him in the first place. I thought he was in danger.

After we finished our conversation, he just walked back to his daughter's home. I told the man at the Walgreen's - the manager, it turns out, - "He's all right." "Yeah, I know!" he responded.

Oh yeah, they sure need to hear that "Hello in there!" Or, in this, case, "¡Buenos días! ¿Cómo está usted?"