Thumper
10-26-2022, 12:13 PM
This last trip was a lot of fun and gave me a chance to see a couple of old friends from high school. When I lived in Vicksburg, MS, there was a group of guys who'd formed a rock band (The Mystic Knights) and played at most all the high school functions (dances, etc), plus had small gigs at some local establishments in town on the weekends. My brother and I were close friends with a few of them. During this trip, we called our closest friend from those old days and met up with him while in town. The old fart STILL has a band and plays on weekends at various venues in the area. Over 70 years old and still going strong! But back to the H/S days. During our visit, we asked about a couple of the other old band members, specifically two brothers, George and Johnny. John Howard (the friend we were with) informed us Johnny had passed away of AIDS in the 80's. He wasn't gay, but it was the early days of the AIDS epidemic and he caught it through a blood transfusion or something similar (not sure anyone actually knows). He was one of the first innocent victims before we really knew what was going on with the AIDS epidemic back in the day. Sad.
His brother George now lives in Texas and has been a School Administrator, but became an author upon retirement and has written quite a few books. One book was about the little high school band he was in (the period we knew him) and I've ordered it from Amazon. The group was a GREAT band and VERY popular in those days, but everyone moved on eventually and started "real life". But John Howard? He was born and raised in Vicksburg, has lived there all his life and has had a band since those early days in h/s! He doesn't make a living at it, as his "real job" is repairing slot machines for various casinos, etc. Who'da thunk it?
I posted this pic before, but this is John Howard on the left ... he's also the only person I've known with three first names (John Howard Dennis) and nobody, who knows him, calls him John ... he has always gone by John Howard.
13181
And here's the book ... John Howard is the one on the left (kneeling). It was really interesting getting caught up on the last 55 years! Anyway, the book should be an interesting read and I'm looking forward to receiving it.
13182
His brother George now lives in Texas and has been a School Administrator, but became an author upon retirement and has written quite a few books. One book was about the little high school band he was in (the period we knew him) and I've ordered it from Amazon. The group was a GREAT band and VERY popular in those days, but everyone moved on eventually and started "real life". But John Howard? He was born and raised in Vicksburg, has lived there all his life and has had a band since those early days in h/s! He doesn't make a living at it, as his "real job" is repairing slot machines for various casinos, etc. Who'da thunk it?
I posted this pic before, but this is John Howard on the left ... he's also the only person I've known with three first names (John Howard Dennis) and nobody, who knows him, calls him John ... he has always gone by John Howard.
13181
And here's the book ... John Howard is the one on the left (kneeling). It was really interesting getting caught up on the last 55 years! Anyway, the book should be an interesting read and I'm looking forward to receiving it.
13182