“Harry, keep the change”….Those were my only words ever spoken directly to Harry and it was backstage after a concert down at the East Pier in NYC and everybody around us was rolling with laughter, including Harry himself, at my comment and blushing face and I was just wishing a hole would open up that I could fall into and disappear.
I was 18, on my own in the concrete wilderness of the ‘real world’, far away from safe hometown Stockholm, and to me, this was a dream come true. Not only seeing Harry live but to actually get to meet him in person. It all happened so fast I didn’t have time to think out that perfect thing to say and all of a sudden there he was, big as the world, signing his (my) book of poetry and the obligatory t-shirt.
I felt like an idiot but today it’s a memory I cherish more than most and I’m glad it happened.
A few days later, Harry was gone and from what I understand, this must have been one of Harry’s last (if not the very last) concerts.
There are no words big enough when talking about Harry Chapin the artist, which is the only Harry I really knew.
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