Michael Berry Osborn
Michael Berry Osborn
1949-1983?
Michael was one of the best musicians I ever had the honor to work
with, and was also one of my best friends. He died in a traffic accident
while driving home from a job. Several years after we were no longer
working together, he played second guitar on a series of albums by Axe,
a hard-rock band. For some reason, on all of these albums his
last name is spelled with an "e" at the end (Osborne). I found this
to be rather strange, since he was always quite adamant about the spelling
of his last name ("That's Osborn - no 'e'"). It could be that he
was forced into the modification by that other rock'n'roll Osborn,
who could never come close to the level of talent displayed by Michael.
Michael had a great sense of humor as well. I've stolen several
of his lines over the years; some of my favorites are:
"I only like two kinds of pie - hot and cold"
"I only like two kinds of ice cream - homemade and store-bought"
I once saw him eat an entire apple. So what, you say?
Well, he ate the peel, the flesh, the core, the seeds, and the stem.
Waste not, want not. Michael came from a large family, and
he had some interesting dining habits. He demonstrated the technique
of reaching for food across the table while holding a knife in the reaching
hand. He pointed out that someone else was much less likely to try
to beat you to the last roll, or whatever. For someone who was so
interested in food, he never seemed to gain a pound.
I've completely lost contact with his wife, Rose. I was so
stunned when she called and told me of Michael's death I didn't think of
staying in touch. She was, and I'm sure still is, a really nice person,
and one of the best things that Michael ever did was to marry her.
I wish her well.