Redtree Times

Lahaina Waterfront, Maui

It makes no difference where I turn
I can’t get over you and the flame still burns
It makes no difference, night or day
The shadow never seems to fade away
And the sun don’t shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door

— It Makes No Difference, Robbie Robertson/ The Band

Sad day yesterday. Watching the news reports from the Hawaiian Island of Maui was shocking. The wildfires ravaged the island and more specifically, the historic town of Lahaina. The town has seemingly been burnt to the ground and 36 lives have been lost thus far. What a tragedy.

We spent quite a lot of time on that waterfront in Lahaina years ago on several trips to the island. Many memories from that place of many great meals and good times. I was even offered my first job in the field of art there. Didn’t take it, of course, but it may have been the impetus for me becoming an artist several years later.

All those places gone now.

My heart aches for that place and its people. It will take years and great effort to rebuild the town. But it is a place with wonderful people that is worth the effort.

Yesterday also brought the news of the death of Robbie Robertson, the guitarist for The Band. who wrote many of their best-known songs. It sounds sophomoric, but in my mind, he might have been one of the coolest people on this planet. I don’t think about being other people often, if ever, but more than once I told myself I would give anything to be that guy.

We lost another good one.

Here’s one of my favorite of his many great songs. This is It Makes No Difference which he wrote specifically for bassist Rick Danko‘s voice. The song’s opening verse, shown at the top, seems fitting for the day. This is their performance of it from the Martin Scorsese film, The Last Waltz, which documents their legendary final concert on Thanksgiving Day in 1976.