I shared this story with a fellow poster via email,,, and he thought you would all may be inspired by my best friend, too!!
Dev is a musician, a master guitarist who has written over 140 songs, and (I kid you not!) can play/sing over 4,000 songs.
He's a frickin' genius. And believe me, I've spent many hours listening to music with him (you know the digital streaming on cable), and he shows me how to play any R&R/blues song from the early stuff (muddy waters, howling wolf, chuck berry) right up to coldplay.
Anyway, he's lived as a busker all his life, He's never taken welfare nor worked for THE MAN. Also put out two cassettes of Halifax street musicians, entitled "Clusterbusk 1 and 2". One time, JOHN PRINE stopped by and listened to him on the street corner as he was singing a Prine song (he plays here about once every 2/3 years) and dropped a $20 in his case ... can you IMAGINE???? There's been others, including Murray MacLauchlan, but I don't need to go on and on ... you get my drift.
He LOVES AMERICA. He left the maritimes after his divorce in the early 80's and started travelling. He has been to every state in the continental USA as well as Alaska, and every proviince and territory in Canada.
Devlin has a BA with honours, in American History. Not many folks know that about him. He is a self-deprecating person, and his joke about this is
"I only made the Dean's list 3 years"
my reply, "Oh? "
"that's because I completed it in 3"
Here in Canada, a Baccalaureate with Honours is a 4-year program.
5 years ago last November, as he was walking home from work (ie, busking late at nite in downtown Halifax), he was jumped and robbed by a gang of squeegee kids, and severely beaten. over 200 staples in his head - I sat with him every day in ICU for weeks. the doctors saved his life, but in the process of doing so,,, 'stroked' him, and he is now paralyzed on his right side and has aphasia - his brain works perfectly -- he just has trouble producing the words, kinda like a person with Cerbral Palsy.
EVEN SO, weather permitting, he goes to work every day he can.... so I am sharing this special treasure, a video his brother posted on you tube (lol, note his brother's ID, ubiduboi, was a big dope smoker, RIP david passed just after Xmas 2009)
so enjoy this vid, it's not the best quality, but it's what it is!
(starts off with a parody of a famous american folk song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N6lyrd7I0k
by the way,,, in the works and almost complete ... a DVD featuring Dev, interviewed and playing his tunes before the incident, and after ... youtubes will be posted when we get ...
tal