Letter #78 - John

I am simply in love with some of my friends.  Not romantically, but still deeply in love.  John is one of these friends.  Just seeing his name in my contact list on my phone makes me smile.  John also has the honour being my only true college friend.  I have lots of friends from when I was in college, but of those the only ones that have lasted were ones born out of roommates and church connections.  No random "oh we met at a party" or "we used to study in the same lounge" or anything like that... except John.  We had one gloriously lame intro to teaching class together and it was almost instantly love.  He is insane... exactly the brand of insane I admire, support and occasionally mirror.  He is exactly the kind of guy I can call up and say "Bob Barker, this weekend, my house" and he shows up dressed the part (this actually happened).  He shares my love of Bon Jovi, my amusement of the 80s, and my love of life.  Then the bastard moved to New York.  So I sent him a letter to remind him of how much I love him, and to tell him I miss him so he won't forget to visit the next time he's in town.  Because I am simply in love with some of my friends, and John is one of them.

Letter #32- John

As the current crisis in Egypt continues to unfold, I have found myself often thinking of my old friend John.  John is a former US Ambassador, and someone I had the privilege of meeting because of my father.  When I was a sophomore in high school, I had aspirations of getting into politics.  I had the opportunity to participate in one of my school's "enrichment weeks" which was in partnership with Close Up Washington DC.  During my trip I was given permission to skip an afternoon of activities and spend some time with John, who had prepared an incredible tour of the city for me, including meetings with several of his contacts in various organisations across the city, serving various functions.  The tour concluded with a private tour of the white house, including stops in the press room, oval office, and situation room (I got to sit in the President's chair!!)  It was an awesome experience.

During my undergrad I gradually shied away from politics and decided to pursue teaching.  Now I find myself drifting back toward the political realm as I pursue my Masters in Social Justice... but John has always stayed with me in the impact he has had on my worldview.  Having been able to hear stories of some of his experiences, having been given the great gift of meeting some of the people he introduced me to, and having kept his insights in my mind as I've matured, I have been blessed by his influence in my life.

I decided to share some of these insights with John in a letter I wrote him this week.  I have not kept in close touch with John in recent years, in fact I had to send him an email to request his current mailing address.  I am hoping that he will be able to take some pride in his impact on my life, and that he will be honoured by the fact that I can, in part, credit him for my current course of study.  As I wrote my letter, my mind was flooded with memories from that DC trip, as well as thoughts and reflections that have floated through my mind over the years.  The simple act of writing his letter made me really consider the path that has brought me to this moment in my academic and professional career and what has helped shape the goals I now have for myself.  That in and of itself was an experience I don't often get to enjoy, it was very cool.