Old e-mail to Ra about Kennie.

This picture was taken on Martha's Vineyard, the last time I saw Kennie. We stopped at the liquor store on the way home from the airport and she bought a gallon of vodka. She drank it mixed with Gatorade, rarely slept and ran the television constantly. We couldn't get her to go for a ride to the beach, but we did go out to dinner one night at the Harbor View Hotel, also pictured above. We sat on the porch afterwards as night fell, looking out on the tiny harbor and light house. For some reason we started talking about The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and it came out that she felt like Joan Baez had done the definitive version. I made a sound like I'd been shot and started choking and sputtering about the Band. Laughter from the street made me shout out "Baez or Band?" and harumph with satisfaction when "Oh BAND!" came back in retort.

A message dated June 1, 1999

Hi, how is everything? It is so fucking hot here I am sweating like a whore...it's embarrassing. I was at the studio doing my chores and I was just dripping, and I was only standing around yammering.

Spoke to Kennie Sat. night. She sounds well considering what she's been through. She's convinced the nurses are taking her meds and I wanted to say well, they're junkies and all they care about is getting high, but I thought the better of it. No sense in reminding her of better times. ha ha.

One thing I have to tell you. She was talking about how she ended up in the hospital. I couldn't quite understand where she said she'd been. (And I wrote this down at the time I was so blown away.) "I only got a little cut on my foot. They had this little fountain and I was walking through it and stepped on a broken champagne glass." I just love that she's having all these fabulous visions. Like I told you before, I wouldn't take it so much to heart that she asked for her 'birthday bourbon' as she isn't totally coherent yet anyway. She seems like she's still in that half awake and yet still dreaming kind of state. I LOVE IT when that happens.

I wonder where Jeri-Ann is?

Love QT

Ra went through so much taking care of Kennie and being there for her. He can never be thanked enough. We later found out that Jeri-Ann was hopping freight trains and riding aimlessly around the country. God, I miss my friends...