John, who was known by everyone as Jack, was someone that I always admired from childhood through my adult life. As a kid I always wanted to tag along with Jack whenever he was about to take off with his pals. Jack, however, did not want me to be part of the group that he was associated with. He always made this clear to me with the most forceful verbal assualts that he could muster. If I persisted in tagging along, he would resort to the tactic of throwing pebbles at me until I became fully discouraged. I left Mount Carmel after high school while Jack remained there all his life. My personality was such that I was not inclined to sustain family ties and I was also caught up with the rigors of trying to provide for my family. So, we had little contact through our adult life but my admiration of him never wavered. So too, his distain for associating with me never diminished.