Hello, 'Spaw--

I have a good many stories about Tommy. We first met when Tommy lived in Birmingham. It was at a fiddler's convention, I believe, at the Birmingham Civic Center. I was deep into melodic three-finger picking, playing note-for-note fiddle tunes on the five-string. He was, to me, the consummate clawhammer player. We pulled up a couple of chairs facing each other, sitting nearly knee to knee, and had a banjo shoot-out, playing fiddle tunes together for over an hour, until our fretting fingers looked like turtle's feet. That was probably 25 years ago. Subsequently, the Ramblers and the Foster Family became close friends. We played many festivals together, and we always parked our van, (Big Hannah) next to theirs (the Beefalo Special), and spent a lot of time together --particular at a really great music festival called Horsepens 40 every May and October. Of all the really great musical memories I have from 40 years of pickin', many of the very best ones feature Tommy. When a friend called me toe morning Tommy died, My feeling was exactly that of Art: I was glad he had gotten the peace he deserved.
I don't normally post a thread this long, but you touched a very special chord when you asked about stories.

Bill Foster