The Escorts' Reggie Haynes' update

Hello All,

Over the years of teaching my students about those who have built their musical heritage, I have been blessed that many of our contacts have become personal friends of mine. One such person is Sir Reggie Haynes of The Escorts as we speak every week.

In recent years, Sir Reggie's health has been declining due to COPD as he has had many hospitalizations. For a month, I knew something was wrong when he did not answer and then his answering service was full. Two weeks ago, his wife Oona called me to say that Reggie had been in critical care and had tubes down his throat so he could not speak. Last week, the tubes came out and we had a wonderful long chat. He sounded great, said he was feeling better and his spirits were up! I doubt it will happen but I am really hoping he can go home for Christmas but I will let you know.

His nickname is "the prophet" so I will leave you with some of his words:
'I believe that when a man runs away from himself, he runs out of fear and ignorance; forgetting his dignity and responsibility as a human being. When a man has given up his dignity, he loses his humanness. He becomes a shadow of a man, without life, without meaning and purpose to pursue his own destiny. He walks with loneliness; he stands alone because he is alone, in what he believes, is, a cold and unsympathetic world.
He has no trust in others, because he cannot trust himself. Yet, with the blessing of God, there comes a time in a man's life when he grows weary of running. He stops and comes face to face with himself and accepts himself. Reaching this point, he leaves the past where it belongs; gone with time un-recallable. . He places his tomorrows in the hands of what he must do today. '