Tim, That is a beautiful recollection! Many of us remember this lovely guy and his smile and humor. I am sad that we have so little information so it's hard to know how to honor him. Somewhere, a mother and father and maybe siblings lost a loved one. Wish we could tell them we are remembering him.

John was a creative, sensitive, fun fellow. He had a humorous angle on ordinary things. “I know that as well as I know the back of my hand.“ [John looks at the back of his hand and starts with surprise]. His letters were zany and fun, with paintings and streaming consciousness, and creative treatment of every aspect of the rules of letter writing, such as writing out the zip code in his return address as “Three Three Oh Four Oh.” One letter closed with “Say hello to Petter also say Hark! Animal Noises? Forest sounds” He thought about things. Most 16-year-olds wouldn’t have pondered this: “Have you ever really given much thought as to why your [sic] on this earth living? Why do you think you live? It’s really hard to explain or express but please tell me why you’re alive? Seriously now!” And, “I wonder what friendship is anyway. Usually in order to be someone’s friend I have to childishly idolize them. “ And, “Trying very hard to be myself and stay out of crowds, and contemplate a lot and not be to[o] sickening and hate who I dislike and love life and create something that expresses me, and avoid things I don’t like and not care how people react to me but I’m not doing to[o] well at all of them together but I find that the biggest part of life is trying to do them all.” And, “It’s almost 1971 now, how these years pass, but when I think of the past I can vaguely remember something good with each year, some new realization. I still haven’t been able to understand people, but searching is at least a start.”