I am sitting on the wooden back porch of my friends’ small farmhouse in Shoreham, Vermont, in early October 1979, looking out onto an open field with a small pond and a tree-lined ridge beyond. Listening to the din of frogs calling for mates from the pond I notice the moon starting to rise in front of me. As the moon lifts just above the treed horizon it shows itself to be a large full bright harvest moon. That is a spectacular site in itself but there is more to the story.

All of a sudden there is music wafting through the screen door from inside the adjacent back room. George, the owner, has put onto the turntable Willie Nelson’s “Stardust Memories” album and the song, “Moonlight In Vermont”. He quietly opens the screen door and walks onto the porch and, in silence, sits down beside me. As we sit there with Willie’s serenade making magic of the moment, the silence could not be more golden.

George and I often speak about that moment and how special it was for us both. Life is made up of many memorable moments and the best moments are silent.