We thank Brother Blue for all his gifts to us...
especially the fire to tell stories.
That fire will always burn in our hearts and live in our words.
He whom we loved
and is now gone
is no longer where
he once was.
He is now wherever
we remember him.
- St. John Chrysostom
leave a comment for Ruth and the wider world, here
(below, from Bob Reiser)
In an Indian Restaurant in Cambridge, just over 2 years ago, Blue tried to make sense of his life to Ruth and
myself (and an attractive Vassar coed who was walking past)
"I dreamed about how I will die. I am in the park, telling a story – ‘Once upon a time ago, a rhyme ago.’ Children and grandparents and street people are all around me, listening. Suddenly I fall down. A child steps forward, stands on my heart, and he continues – ‘Long ago a song ago…Down on the ground, I open my mouth, and out flies a blue butterfly." -- Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill (aka Brother Blue)
(below, from Laura Packer )
“We ain’t nothin’ but music wrapped in a body made of snow.”
On Tuesday night, storytelling night, November 3, 2009, our beloved mentor, teacher and self-proclaimed holy fool Brother Blue, left this world to go home to be with the ancestors. We who remain are left so very blessed by his presence in this world and in our lives. He taught us how to live stories, not just tell them. He told us that storytelling is God talking to God and modeled that every single day. And when Blue listened, he listened powerfully with all his heart, all his soul and all his strength. Anyone who has ever been near him knows this. He didn’t just change the world, he changed worlds – every single person he met. In the street, at festivals, in prisons, at storyteller gatherings, in the offices of academics and wherever there was music.
If Blue were here to talk about himself now he would say, “Don’t remember Blue. Remember Ruth. Ruth is truth.” Ruth, Blue’s amazing wife who has kept him from floating off into the clouds for decades, is doing about as well as can be expected. She has asked that everyone give her some time. She knows you are thinking of her and needs a little space right now.
Brother Blue passed peacefully – he was ready. He got to tell one last story to his beloved Ruth and then let go. As far as we can tell he was not in pain.
Plans for services are underway. Any news and information can be found at http://www.laurapacker.com/brotherblue You can also leave your memories of Blue and messages for Ruth. Please pass this information on to anyone who you think would be interested.
Blue once said, “When you tell a story, you tell it to all creation. It's cosmic. It never goes away.” Blue is story. He will always be with us. Go and tell your stories.
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Laura S. Packer
storyteller, writer, dreamer
www.laurapacker.com
www.truestorieshonestlies.blogspot.com
