As friends often do we lost touch for a time. But we did see each other somewhat regularly. While there were times John enjoyed my company as much as I did his,at other times he seemed weak and tired. He made his desire for solitude clear. That puzzled me. Why would someone befriend you yet occasionally repel you for no logical reason? Earlier tonight I was given the sad news by my father that John had been found dead near his home. For someone of my age,it even surprises me how many friends that have passed away in the past decade alone. John's is somewhat unique in that I knew him,yet knew very little of him.
What I did know was listed well in a local obituary. He was born on July 19th,1962.John was a very solid and respected employee at the local Goodwill. He was a conscientious sales associate there-known for staying behind extra hours to clean out dressing rooms,returning displaced items and setting up new retail shelves. What I remember about John most was his great admiration for those who succeeded to the very best of their potential in life. He was a great admirer of Star Trek and its positive futurism,as well as the scientific strides of NASA and aerospace engineers. He admired the music of Dave Brubeck and Led Zeppelin,the latter's band whom he actually introduced me to.
He enjoyed diligently building model rockets and airplanes-a couple of which I helped him with. He was also an admirer of New England sports-especially the Boston Bruins. Great feats of excellent impressed him,as well as people with a keen intellect and a level of compassion. He did however claim to have suffered many psychological and physical setbacks in his life. Being a very mannered and honorable man,he never discussed them in great detail. Yet his compassion for others never wavered. Especially considering John seemed extremely choosy in who he called a friend. The fact he came to consider me in that light eventually felt like a great privilege.
For all the years I knew him I only ever took five photographs of John. As I got to know him the same huge,penetrating eyes that at first frightened me provided a metaphoric window to the soul of someone who truly lived up to the often cliched claim of valuing actions over words. Using different creative techniques I have been experimenting with,these five photographs are included here along with some variations I have made on them. I imagine very very few people reading this know anything about this man. He may even sound like just another hard working human being. Yet to paraphrase a quote from Star Trek,which John and I mutually admired if we all felt the loss of a stranger as much as we did someone close to us,human history might be a lot less bloody. Thank you!
