Dear Larry,

Even though you gave us some warning, your departure last night left us all a bit stunned. We will miss you.

More than a decade ago you moved from the cramped basement of Kingsbury Hall to the sparkling new Eccles Broadcast Center on the edge of the university golf course. At last you had pristine studios facing the valley and the distant Oquirrh range with its spikes of towers on Mount Vision and Farnsworth Peak.

Back in the Kingsbury days you helped with my transition from directing news to finding the world of tech marketing in what would become the AS/400 environment. I believe you knew what twinax was long before I did.

Later as my son became an Eagle Scout, you made arrangments to cut a soundtrack for his slide show. In those days before audio editing on the desktop, we pulled an all-nighter from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. The 10-minute show and the 24-man hours it took to cut the sound were definitely worth it. A reel-to-reel tape on a safe shelf at home verifies that.

In 1998 you welcomed me to EBC not as a guest but as your associate once again. Later you helped Joe with several madrigal recordings. In fact you've helped on so many projects over the years that it wasn't too surprising when I heard Liane Hansen say, "and engineering help from Larry Holt of member station KUER" as a tag to Hal and Taki's Wright Brothers piece on Weekend Edition.

I've enjoyed hearing you occasionally on KUED, remember your stint as the voice of KUER underwriting and your subhosting for Hawk and Bryan on Morning Edition. I'll say this for your timing, you've helped me see the Bob Edwards "New Coke" fiasco with some perspective.

I didn't know your news last night as I sat on my front porch. I'd thought of you earlier in the day, knowing that you were in the hospital, but as I sat out in the sunshine last night, something interrupted my reading several times.

It wasn't the breeze, the fragrance or the warmth of that daylight saving hour. It was the soundscape in the trees -- birds affirming spring with an extraordinary presence.

If you had a hand in the mix last night, thanks for saying both goodbye and hello, and know that I'll continue to listen for your talent.

All the best, my old friend, Rich

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