Before Ray Charles lost his sight at the age of seven, he was mesmerized each time he went to Wylie Pitman’s Red Wing Cafe. While Pitman played boogie woogie on an old upright, he began teaching Charles how to play.

My chalk painting of little Ray watching Pitman

Although without sight, he did not play Blindly. He had both direction and purpose and we are all better for having had him in our lives.