Glenn Frey: Gone but not Forgotten

[Glennsallnighter]

Thanks guys. I feel so conflicted... I want to get over it, but I don't want to get over it either, you know? I don't want to act like nothing has changed when everything has changed.

I feel like changing the banner is getting "back to normal" and that somehow feels wrong, but... we have to move on sometime... I don't know. I just don't want to let him go, but I know I have to.

I guess I just need more time. I thought a month would be enough, but I'm still crying. I want stop crying, but when I do, does that mean I'm forgetting him? I don't want to forget him.

And I feel that when the day comes when I finally do take it down, it will really be over. And I don't want it to be. Not ever.

But it already is over, isn't it?

And I'm crying again.

So... not yet.

PS Thank God that there are people here who understand and don't judge me for being so sad about the death of someone who wasn't related to me or my close friend. It really helps.

Nothing to do with the Banner Soda, but that is EXACTLY how I am feeling too. I know realistically we all have to move on at some stage. My whole life thats left cannot be the blur that the last 6 weeks have been. But it seems wrong and disloyal to Glenn to envisage a world that he is no longer part of when he was so much part of my world up to now. I just cant get my head around this at all, and I totally agree that the fan community here on the Border, and on FB are great in that we can allow each other to grieve and come to terms with this in our own time and in our own way. Thank you everybody

[AlreadyGone95]

I cried last night for the first time in a few weeks. One of the categories on Jeopardy was "I Sing". The second clue was "Don Henley said of this Eagles co-founder who passed on in 2016 'He was like a brother to me.' ".

I don't know why it set me off, but it did.

[sodascouts]

Anything can set you off. While I didn't cry over it, I did get a shock today just seeing a guy in light blue jeans with a white t-shirt and a neon pink button-down shirt open over it. I was like "That's Glenn's outfit." He hadn't worn it himself in years but I still thought of him immediately and felt a pang.

[UndertheWire]

Just thinking back to Don saying it would be Glenn's call for when the band ended. At the time, I wondered if this was less about Glenn being in charge and more a recognition that Glenn had chronic health problems and the time would come when he no longer felt able to tour.

It's something we didn't dare to talk about. I know that I looked at the photos from the last tour and noticed the curvature of Glenn's spine and winced a little at his hands. Going back through interviews, I've learned that Glenn's golf-playing had been curtailed by 2012 and there was a hint of how arthritis had changed his game.

Maybe the documentary, the musical, the memoir were projects that gave Glenn something worthwhile to do without the physical demands of touring. And yet, he still loved playing in front of a live audience and it's wonderful he was able to do that almost to the end. And even then, he told Bernie "This is not the end".

Reading about Keith Emerson and how he was no longer able to control his fingers, I though of how frustrating it must have been to no longer be able to do the one thing that has defined his life. Then I thought of Glenn who always seemed to have so many different things going on and so many plans for the future, determined to get the most out of life.

The song that sums up Glenn for me isn't one that he wrote but that he sang.

"Here's To Life"

No complaints and no regrets
I still believe in chasing dreams and placing bets
And I have learned that all you give is all you get
So give it all you've got

I had my share, I drank my fill
And even though I'm satisfied, I'm hungry still
To see what's down another road, beyond a hill
And do it all again

So here's to life
And every joy it brings
Here's to life
To dreamers and their dreams

Funny how the time just flies
How love can go from warm hellos to sad goodbyes
And leave you with the memories you've memorized
To keep your winters warm

But there's no yes in yesterday
And who knows what tomorrow brings, or takes away
As long as I'm still in the game, I want to play
For laughs, for life, for love

So here's to life
And every joy it brings
Here's to life
To dreamers and their dreams
May all your storms be weathered
And all that's good get better

Here's to life
Here's to love
And here's to you

[GlennLover]

Just thinking back to Don saying it would be Glenn's call for when the band ended. At the time, I wondered if this was less about Glenn being in charge and more a recognition that Glenn had chronic health problems and the time would come when he no longer felt able to tour.

It's something we didn't dare to talk about. I know that I looked at the photos from the last tour and noticed the curvature of Glenn's spine and winced a little at his hands. Going back through interviews, I've learned that Glenn's golf-playing had been curtailed by 2012 and there was a hint of how arthritis had changed his game.

Maybe the documentary, the musical, the memoir were projects that gave Glenn something worthwhile to do without the physical demands of touring. And yet, he still loved playing in front of a live audience and it's wonderful he was able to do that almost to the end. And even then, he told Bernie "This is not the end".

Reading about Keith Emerson and how he was no longer able to control his fingers, I though of how frustrating it must have been to no longer be able to do the one thing that has defined his life. Then I thought of Glenn who always seemed to have so many different things going on and so many plans for the future, determined to get the most out of life.

The song that sums up Glenn for me isn't one that he wrote but that he sang.

"Here's To Life"

No complaints and no regrets
I still believe in chasing dreams and placing bets
And I have learned that all you give is all you get
So give it all you've got

I had my share, I drank my fill
And even though I'm satisfied, I'm hungry still
To see what's down another road, beyond a hill
And do it all again

So here's to life
And every joy it brings
Here's to life
To dreamers and their dreams

Funny how the time just flies
How love can go from warm hellos to sad goodbyes
And leave you with the memories you've memorized
To keep your winters warm

But there's no yes in yesterday
And who knows what tomorrow brings, or takes away
As long as I'm still in the game, I want to play
For laughs, for life, for love

So here's to life
And every joy it brings
Here's to life
To dreamers and their dreams
May all your storms be weathered
And all that's good get better

Here's to life
Here's to love
And here's to you

I always thought that Here's To Life sounded like his theme song.
You mentioned the curvature of his spine. That was something that I had noticed about him from the seventies on. Do you think that it worsened in recent years?

[Glennsallnighter]

I used to worry a lot about the bandages on his hands - but because I thought they world eventually signal a time when he would not be able to PLAY again - I never actually thought that The Arthritis would ultimately kill him. I thought that After Hours was also a test to see if he could branch more into singing with less of an emphasis on playing (ie letting other musicians do it for him) in preparation for the day when he would KNOW that he could not play to his highest standards any more.

I'm so so sorry that we have lost him but a tiny bit of me rejoices that he did not have to go through the pain of having to make the decision to quit.

[UndertheWire]

I always thought that Here's To Life sounded like his theme song.
You mentioned the curvature of his spine. That was something that I had noticed about him from the seventies on. Do you think that it worsened in recent years?

Yes. I noticed it because I saw my father become more bent over the years as his spine deformed. Glenn always had poor posture when singing with a guitar but if you look at the photos from the Farewell 1 tour and compare with the HotE tour, there's a noticeable difference.

[buffyfan145]

I noticed that too about him and I agree that in a way I'm glad it didn't get to the point where he couldn't play guitar or piano anymore. My maternal grandmother's had RA since the early 90s and it progressed fast (and she didn't take some of the meds by choice). She had to relearn how to do everything and refused to let anyone but her take care of my grandfather before he passed, which always amazed me how strong she was. I knew she was and is in pain sometimes but she'll never let you know. It does have a high risk for infections too and we're always so cautious around her, even if she doesn't like it. LOL But she really has learned how to live with it. Just now I worry about it too because it can be inherited and my Mom is currently being tested for it as she has signs of some type of arthritis, and my grandmother's even told me I inherited a lot of her and my Mom's features and hopefully that's just it. It is something I'll have to watch as I age just like my Mom currently is, and with what happened to Glenn it's just hit even more close to home.

[sodascouts]

I was hanging the Don Henley poster I got at the Nashville show yesterday and all of the sudden I remember how, when I got it, I was thinking about when I might see Glenn again. I got choked up. It is funny what can make you emotional but I can deal with it much better now. I wouldn't call it "moving on" so much as learning to live with the reality that he is gone.

[TequilaSunrise82]

That's how I was feeling too Soda, like I was learning to deal with it better. Then this week something changed and I'm just as emotional as I was a month ago