Requiem for a Tuba

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/us/14tubaman.html

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My memory of the Tuba Man:

While Kitty and I lived and worked in Seattle, I was a member of the Seattle Opera Chorus. Perhaps more importantly, I was a busker down at the Pike Place Market on my lunch breaks. I would put out a coffee cup and stand on the corner singing my lungs out. I sang arias in front of tourists (not very well). It was a fun way to break down any last sense of fear that I might have had about performing.

One of the fun things about being a part of the Seattle Opera Chorus was that you could sometimes leave performances early (if we were done singing). I remember running out of the theater after shouting "Attenti agli sbocchi delle scale!!" at the end of Tosca. As I would leave the theater, beating the crowds by ten minutes (at best), I would wave to the Tuba Man as he sat blasting away "Ride of the Valkeries."

To the Tuba Man, my fellow busker: I wish I had given you a tip. I hope you're doing duets with Gabriel now.