Andy Meacham: ST. PETERSBURG — On their way to Tropicana Field, thousands of Tampa Bay Rays fans have walked past a gaunt man with a graying ponytail playing a violin.
His music — hundreds of American, European and Jewish tunes older than his mid 1800s violin — seemed to animate the steps of expectant crowds.
He called himself the Fiddler of St. Petersburg, the name printed on a plain business card that also mentioned his membership in the Chamber of Commerce.
Fellow musicians say he played well. Enough people threw coins or dollars into his case so that Mr. Stroup could pay the rent on an efficiency apartment and replace his bowstrings several times a year.
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