Yet another cancer loss - Mary Travers

It does seem that bad news comes in threes. I woke up this morning to read that Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary fame, had died of leukemia.

I once met Travers. I was visiting New York City in the early 1980s, eating crepes with friends at a small restaurant, when R whispered "Look! It's Mary Travers! I must get her autograph." Travers was very gracious about signing her autograph for my friend R and made several suggestions for places to take the out-of-town guest (me). Her recommendation? The Cloisters.

My camp summers were filled with singing songs PPM made famous, such as "Puff the Magic Dragon", "Leavin' on a Jet Plane", "If I Had a Hammer." I think much of my youth was defined by their music. I could never sing Travers's part -- her voice was so much lower than mine.

While Patrick Swayze is dancing in heaven, Mary Travers is no doubt making the music.