I cried when I saw this:

This year’s procession is dedicated to our friend Brother Blue

This year’s procession is dedicated to our friend Brother Blue, beloved storyteller, who died on Nov. 3, 2009. This will be the first First Night ever without him. A fixture in Cambridge and Boston for many years, Brother Blue was loved and admired and will be missed. He personified the spirit of First Night.
- firstnight.org

I remember Brother Blue in Harvard Square telling his rhyming stories, barefoot and dressed in blue with ribbons and rainbows, butterflies and bells. But before that, I remember Brother Blue on the radio. I used to listen to Eric play jazz on WGBH. I learned about jazz from Eric. The program started at midnight. Sometime between 2 and 3 A.M. Brother Blue would come into the station and Eric would let him tell his stories of beauty, and rainbows, and wonder. I would sometimes set an alarm so I wouldn't miss Brother Blue come on the air. His stories are still with me. I used his storytelling style when I worked with a developmentally disabled population.

I ran into Brother Blue in Central Square in 2001. He would have been around 80 years old. He was with his "Lady" wife, Ruth, who was watching out for him. I didn't know he had passed away until I read the statement on Boston's First Night web site. Yes! I want to Read the rest of this post ...