Today is the 9th anniverary of a loss.

I was listening that day to Ann Arbor Public Radio......when they announced that "Shakin' Jake" had passed away.

For those of you who grew up in Ann Arbor, or went to U of M, or just visiting the area near the university or downtown... you know Jake. He was out there everyday........it seemed like everywhere.

The first time I met Shakin' Jake, I was exhibiting at the Art Guild Fair (one of the fairs that takes over A Squared for a week in July). I was having breakfast at a place called Afternoon Delight, when the door opened & this older guy walkied in. You'd think some rock star had just rolled in, the fuss that was made over him.

White brocade suit, ala 1970.....white shoes......melon pink shirt, lime green tie, wide enough to be a tablecloth. A straw hat that looked like a "pot cover" for a potted plant. PINK sunglasses....HUGE ones.:smileysurprised.Carrying one of the soriest guitar cases I'd ever seen.

He looked incredible. Working a thrift store suit like no one's business.

He ordered "his usual"....oatmeal & toast. Walked up to someone sitting at the table closest to the door & said "Excuse me, baby, you're in my seat"...........& she jumped up, told him hi, sorry Jake....& moved.

The next thing I knew, he walked up to my table, gave me a big hug & boomed out "How ya doin' beautiful?" Normaly, I'd of socked him in the puss......but he was such a force of nature, he made my day.

He was on a roll, talking about everything. After he had breakfast (on the house), he picked up his guitar case, announced "I gotta keep movin', I got a lot of places to go today, got places to play". Throughout the day, I say him all over the area down by the University, playing that beat up, out of tume guitar & starting a song he never finished......& drawing some of the biggest crowds of all the legit "performers" at the Art Fair. Everybody wanted to see "Shakin' Jake", get a photo with him or a bumper sticker saying "I Brake For Jake".

Jake was from Saginaw, MI........he showed up to play at the Ann Arobor Blues Festival in the 70s.......& never left.

To say that Jake "played" guitar was a stretch......sometimes it had three strings, sometime two strings, sometimes one string.....always out of tune.

But God, the locals loved him. The business owners kept an eye on him, made sure he ate, had a place to stay, made sure his bills were paid. The college kids talked to him like he was a celebrity.....& in his own way, he was. The Spirit of Ann Arobor, from a time when it was radical, hip & fun..

And then.....he was gone.

An old homeless (suposedly) guy with no family in the area.....yet over 400 people showed up for his memorial service. Afterwords, a smaller group of about 75 or 80 people proceeded to have a "second line" parade through his old haunts, playing all sorts of musical instruments (some almost as badly as he did ).He had distant relatives come from Saginaw for the funeral......they couldn't believe the send off for him. He even made the national news on NPR, in major newspapers & USA Today. He would have loved it.

Jake used to say he was "a man of the world"........& today, it was proven to me. Thinking about him, I idly typed in "Shakin' Jake" on the computer & hit "search".

And there he was......in Wikipedia. He'd really become "a man of the world". I think he would have been tickled as pink as those big-a** sunglasses.

We still miss you, Jake......Happy Trails.