Michael Callan was a gentle and patient man. Our wives are best of friends but Michael and I had a
relationship of our own.
He was always available to answer questions about beekeeping and loved to show and talk about his hives.
Once Michael invited me to go capture a swarm at a business on North Monroe which was great fun.
Michael and I shared the joy of playing fiddle. He taught me some great old-time tunes such as
Broken Down Gambler and
Cuffy. Everyone knows of Michael's love (obesssion?) with
Charlie Engstrom's tunes. Every once in a while Michael would send me his latest version of
Charlie's tune
Cotton.
A little known fact is that Michael and I (along with Steve Hodges on guitar)
won the twin fiddle contest at the Florida Folk Festival
playing
Georgiana Moon and
Cotton:
You can listen to it here:
Florida Fiddle Contest 1993
Michael's intelligence and cheerful demeanor will be missed. I'll also miss his great mojitos!
(photo by Larry Coltharp)