I had a series of concert and club gigs in Japan in 2001. I was astonished when I told Mike that one of the shows was in Osaka, and he told me that his son Aaron was living there, and he was going to be visiting at the same time. Mike and Bobbie came to the show. What a sight it was to see my big friend from Chicago find his seat in the crowd of Japanese fans. Afterward, we all met and walked around Osaka, Mike gamely dealing with a bum knee. After Mike left Chicago, he always made it a point to look me up and spend some time with me when he was visiting. I always got a lot out of a conversation with Mike. He was one of the few non musicians I knew who could look at my situation and size it up with great insight. He "got" it without me having to explain a thing. I wish I had found the time to talk to Mike more often.As always, one never knows how long the opportunity is there.