When Mike Jordan became ill several years ago, he wrote a great song called "THERE'S A HOLE IN ONE OF MY SHOES"----about getting that hole fixed and then going on with things. Mike did that until his various maladies killed him.

In a strange way, I was probably responsible for his coming to Chicago and being a part of our folk scene there in the 70s and 80s. I had a gig at the University Of Missouri in Columbia but I was suffering from a terrible flu. With 103 degree fever I rode a bus there (no car yet) and found out they'd put me up with 4 guys in a dorm room. I needed more privacy than that and also didn't want to get everyone ill--so I took my instruments and must've walked 3 or 4 miles around the town and campus until I found a motel. I slept a few hours and went looking for the student union where the gig was. I was sure I'd done a terible show but a young guy (Mike Jordan) came up to me and said he had enjoyed the show. He told me he was a student but wanted to get away and make music. He asked, "What's the Chicago scene like?" I told hime that then, in the late 70s, there was a wonderful group of folks there---a huge scene with maybe 35 clubs, coffeehouses and bars and concert possibilities galore. ---------To shorten the tale, Mike came to Chicago and made his mark. I thought it was cool as hell. Later, he'd BLAME ME (jokingly) for ruining his life. We loved the guy in that town. I just gave some photos I took of Mike to Clay Eals of Seattle who is writing what promises to be a great biography of STEVE GOODMAN. I hope those pics make the final edit.

Art Thieme