In Honor of David Price

David M.Price
December 3, 1956 - Friday, June 5, 2009

I would like to take a moment to reflect on David Price, a fine citizen of Crisfield who recently passed away. I took the above photo and posted it on one of our Friday town shoot out posts in March. The post was about people, and I picked David because he was one of the many citizens around Crisfield who was always doing things for the community.

David was owner of Tull and Price, a real estate office in Crisfield. Someone recently told me he got his real estate license before he was twenty.

I didn't know that. That is one reason why I am writing this post - I should have known that.

Crisfield is a small town. Everyone knows each other in at least a casual way. People wave. And smile. And time moves a little slower here. In fact, time moves so slowly, one would think they have all the time in the world to get to know people better.

In my life, I have meet many people that I wish I had had the opportunity to know better. To sit and chat, and find out about the little things that made up their lives. To laugh a bit, to tell them how much I appreciated them for what they did. But, I moved on, or they moved on, and I missed those golden moments.

David was one of those people that I always felt guilty about not spending more time with; perhaps to tell him how much he meant to the community, or just to sit and chat about his life growing up in Crisfield.

I never went down Main Street without seeing David walking somewhere. So many times I had wanted to stop and talk but the moment always slipped away, as did the moment to talk more whenever we were kidding each other about who was following who, something we did often when I saw him at events that I was covering for the newspaper.

Seeing David participating in so many things, I kept telling myself I would go back to his office on Main Street, and maybe write a little more about him; find out what his interests were, perhaps take more photos, or sit and chat with him over a cup of coffee at Gordon's

One of my favorite songs is "And the Moment slipped Away" by Christine Lavin. Every time I know I should stop and talk to someone, or thank someone, or be more of a friend to someone, or even stop to take a photo of something I see, and I don't act on my thoughts, I think about that song. Seeing David around town often made me think of that song.

Lavin plays the acoustical guitar, and writes and sings her own songs. She has a beautiful voice and sings about life; a lot of her songs are from her own experiences. "And the Moment Slipped Away" is about not acting on our thoughts to say and do good things because we are so busy, or caught up in our own little worlds.

In the song, Lavin sings about not acting on speaking to a famous actress who once stood beside her, and crossed the street with her, and about not spending more time getting to know someone who once worked with her at Bellevue Hospital.

I dedicate this song to David Price with the blessings of Lavin, who gave me permission to print it.

If I had not let the moments pass me by when I had wanted to talk to David, I would have known so much more about him, including the fact that he had been a Realtor since he was twenty. A small detail, one might think, but just one of the many things that made up the tapestry of his wonderful, kind life.

Now, every time I drive down Main Street, it looks a little lonelier, and I feel a bit of sadness.

So, I hope this will remind all of you to never let another golden moment pass you by. Kind words and showing appreciation for what other have done, will never make you sorry. Learning more about the people you know casually will enrich your lives. Saying something nice to a stranger will put a smile on at least two faces. Each day, we are all presented with little golden moments. We should strive to make the most of them.

David Price was 52. One day I waved at him; and then I heard he was gone.

The Moment Slipped Away

She's a famous actress
Movies and TV
I recognize her as we climb the stairs
Of the IRT
we cross the street together
moving up Broadway
I'm trying to come up with
something clever I can say
about how I love her work
what it means to me
how in her most recent film
she acted brilliantly
maybe she'll think I'm stupid
maybe this'll make her day
but she disappeared into the crowd
and the moment slipped away

He works the wards of Bellevue Hospital
the mail delivery
for two years every weekday morning
he said hello to me
we'd joke about the local teams
the weather of the day
though there were many other things
I really wanted to say
you see he wasn't like the rest of us
it was a struggle for him to walk
you had to concentrate really hard
just to understand him talk
I wanted to ask him
where you get the courage
to come to work each day?
but I quit that job
I moved along
and the moment slipped away

Kind words don't move the earth
but if they can improve your self-worth
why do I let these moments pass me by?
instead I'm quick to judge, quick to blame
quick to criticize, quick to maim
it's hard to change
but I'll try

So maybe it's your best friend
or the next stranger you see
maybe it's your neighbor
maybe it's you
maybe it's me
who needs to hear encouragement
to make it through the day
who needs to hear whatever kind words
you might have to say
it doesn't matter where you're going
or where you have been
right now is the perfect moment
for us to begin
to appreciate each other
in new and different ways
please don't let another golden moment
slip away
appreciate each other
more and more each day
please don't let another golden moment
slip away.