OH MY GOD. i used to sit next to shakey jake when i rode the plymouth road bus to work at the art museum. shakey jake was an institution. he used to talk to himself and go "bum budum bum bum" as if humming a tune. at first i was afraid of him.

i never really knew the story behind shakey jake, and i can't say i really understood him. i thought he was homeless. he was an interesting guy though, everybody knew him.

a bunch of um alums at work today were swapping shakey jake stories. the wife of one of my co-workers was giving shakey jake a ride somewhere when she was pulled over for speeding. the cop looked in the car, saw jake sitting in the passenger seat, and asked, "is that shakey jake?" when she nodded, he told them to go on their way.

the man commanded a lot of respect around that city.

that's sad. i was pretty distraught after faz died too.

this is sad... i lived in A2 for 9 years and remember that guy very well.

A legend. There are some good stories in the Comments section of the link jafidler provided.

...for those of us who don't know him, maybe you can share what made him a legend in that city?

(well, reading the article helps a bit.)
;)

anyway, we had an icon in the town I grew up in as well.