Audio Slideshow: University of Michigan Diag's iconic washboard-harmonica player talks about time well wasted

Tom Goss plays a tune on his washboard and harmonica on Tuesday on the University of Michigan Diag. "Thank you for making my day every day when I walk by," one student told him.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

The steady, scratchy rhythm echoes through the Dennison Archway and bounces from building to building — married with melodic notes pouring from his harmonica and the beat of a small percussion instrument tucked under the laces of his left shoe.

For the past 11 years, the Ann Arbor resident has turned heads, perked ears and raised eyebrows on the Diag. He's even had a Facebook page started in his honor. 

Goss said reactions to his music run the gamut.

"You know, people throw nasty things at me or people throw smiles," he said. "Or a lot of people are on their iPod or cell phone and they don't hear it or don't pay attention. Other people are like, 'Wow, what's this guy doing? I don't see this on every other street corner.' So it's kind of different."

Goss, who comes and goes by bicycle, said some people think he's homeless. In fact, the Chicago native who came here in 1980 is a research lab technician on campus.

"I work over in the dental building," he said. "We're in a microbiology lab where we work on nasty bacteria — like the one that causes the Black Death, the Black Plague, and the one that causes cholera. And I come out here after work to unwind, and stress manage, and people watch, and do my little hobby with my washboard."

Goss almost always is accompanied by a clipboard with a clever saying or quip attached. 

Tuesday's read, "Time well wasted."

(Note: For "Wizard of Oz" fans, watch the following audio-slideshow to the bitter end)

Ryan J. Stanton is a government reporter who occasionally wastes time on the Diag for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.