RIP Seattle's Tuba Man

A familiar sight and sound to Northwest sports (and opera/symphony) fans died overnight Sunday, most likely as the result of injuries suffered in an assault/robbery a week earlier. He was found in his home where he was recovering.

The Tuba Man would play for spare change outside Mariners, Seahawks and Sonics games.

When I was a kid, my brother and I went to countless Mariners games, taking the ferry to Seattle and walking the three-quarters of a mile to the Kingdome. There was always a great moment, turning the corner of King and Occidental, and hearing the first notes of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" croaking out of his tuba.

He'd usually set up shop about a quarter of the way between King Street and the Dome, right next to the "Yellow Brick Road" painted for the 1984 Final Four (repainted for 1989, which is when I remember it). The Tuba Man was as much a part of pro sports in Seattle as watching them under a concrete roof was.

The last time I heard it was on opening day this season. He was parked near the entrance to the Safeco Field. It only lasted a minute, there were some young men with popped collars and product in their hair (in other words, douchebags), harassing him. They were listening to him play, then asked him to dance for their dollar. He complied. I wanted to kick each of the jerkoffs in the nuts. I regret not doing it now.

Anyway, his name was Edward McMichael (which I didn't know until just now) and he was 53.
It won't be the same without him.

Here's a link to a Seattle P-I column about his death: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/386267_robert04xx.html