A decade ago, Carolyn and I ran a bed and breakfast at our home here on the lake in Chepachet. One day, the Cooneys of Liverpool, England came to stay for several days. There are some people you take an instant liking to. The Cooneys fell into that category.

We have stayed friends on Facebook over the years, following the peripatetic Cooney clan as they sojourned here and there around the world. These people like to get around.

A few months ago, Eddie, the patriarch of this talent crew, let us know he would be in our neighborhood in the middle of July. He had decided to see what the 4th of July was all about in  America, so he flew into Boston, rented a car, and drove to Seattle. After the fireworks and hoopla of the Fourth, he drove back. We were his last stop before heading back to the airport.

We were delighted to find Eddie sitting on our front porch one fine summer afternoon, guitar case in hand. There’s a story that goes with it. He and his son Kit are singer/songwriters of some renown. When they travel, they are only allowed to add a sticker to their respective guitar case if they have actually performed there. Just sitting and listening to others perform doesn’t count.

Eddie can now legitimately add a Rhode Island sticker to his well traveled case. In the morning after a good night’s rest, he serenaded us with two original compositions while we had breakfast on the front deck. The first was called At Land’s End. I recorded it and uploaded it to YouTube because I wanted to capture the moment and share it with Eddie and his friends.

Following that tune, Eddie did another recent creation called Free As The Wind. He says he sang it for a group of bikers in Idaho on his trip. He was surprised when one of the grizzled Harley riders said the song nearly moved him to tears. See if you agree.

Eddie Cooney — troubadour, thinker, traveler, and philosopher. Carolyn and I hope it will not be long before our paths cross once again.