We were all in awe of you. Your demeanor and skills were so far beyond what most of us had ever seen.

You made it all look so easy and intuitive! As if rigging 60 pounds of camera on top of a car was as simple as building a campfire. It’s impossible to quantify just how much love and respect you had in this town.

The times we were on set together, it was your opinion that meant more to me than anyone else’s. Even though you would never tell me directly, I always wanted to know what you thought. I put a lot of weight on that smirk of yours.  If I caught you taking a photo of the monitor, my whole day would be made. Truly it would.

Sure, film crews have hierarchy.  But Mike, if the shit ever really hit the fan, if it was life and death, there is no question that you would be the one we all would look to.  You would be the one to help us escape the fast approaching tornado without even needing a company move.

You knew better than all of us, but never made us feel like idiots. You were big-time, but never made us feel like amateurs.  You could not be fooled by anything half-assed. And you always kept everyone safe.

And thank you for never getting annoyed by me asking you endless technical questions. Even when I was keeping you from a nap on the way home, you made time.  Your patience and kindness did not go unnoticed.

You were the best. In every way possible. I can’t even begin to convey how much of a loss you are in all of our lives.

Hope you’re in a better place. We all miss you down here. 

I miss Mike so much.

Mike had integrity and he expected everyone else around him to operate with integrity as well. His standards and exactitude were only outshone by his sheer brilliance and lightening wit.

I’ll miss watching him form a complex rig in his mind while drawing in the air with his finger tips. And the way he quickly turned on his heels when the solution to a problem sprung him into action. I’ll miss his grin and his gentle nature that he couldn’t hide even when he tried.

I’ll cherish our talks about the finer points of New Wave music, his affection for mayberry grip heads and his dream of one day leaving set in a helicopter with only his trusty Stanley Lever Lock in tow.

I spent so many hours learning from Mike, trying to make him laugh, and talking shit,  what a good life to live. 

It looks like we’ve got a pretty good jump on things Mike.