With all the attention going to the untimely death of Robin Cook, its easy to overlook the news that Ibrahim Ferrer has also died.
Both lives are stories of unfulfilled potential in a way.
With Robin Cook there is the knowledge that he could have achieved so much more had things happened differently so that he did not feel compelled to resign. He was meticulous, clever and principled, and that talent was not fully used.
Ibrahim Ferrer, on the other hand, spent much of his life on the breadline after early success. When he finally came to find success again, and (I hope) a decent income he was already in his 70s. Getting a Grammy for best new artist at the age of 72 must have amused him somewhat. He probably spent his best years scraping by, and we missed the chance to see him perform in that time. Still, like John Lee Hooker he carried on doing what he liked best right to the end.
Ferrer showed that you can bounce back, and even bounce higher. Who knows how high Robin Cook might have bounced back if he had the chance?
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