My column on the Samuel Adams Pub at the Seamen’s Inne at the Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut produced some great responses, but none as special as the phone call I received from Art Doran, the banjo player and leader of our “Don’t Shoot” trio. He’ll be 95 in October, and spent over 2 1/2 hours on the phone with me talking about all and sundry. He reminisced about the great times we shared along with tubist Steve Ingraham on our Friday and Saturday night gigs in the Pub and shook some old memories out of me.
Our residency at the Seamen’s Inne attracted repeat customers from locales both near and far. Some couples came every week including one from the other side of the state. The husband, a big bruiser of a man, always asked for Irving Berlin’s “When I Lost You” and his (much) younger wife would toddle up and throw some loot in our tip jar to seal the deal. Art would sing it sincerely if not beautifully and we’d wring every possible bit of pathos out of it that an out-of-tune piano, a banjo, and tuba could muster. The fellow would sit and listen and we’d often see his eyes tear up just a bit. We never asked, but we surmised Brenda was his second wife and was aware—and not threatened—by the sweet memor
