February 6, 1940
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June 24, 2021
John Trent McLaughlin - 2008
Last week I heard the news of the passing of John; as we had been friends for over seventy years, it struck me deeply.
We
became friends at the Mission Dolores grammar school in the
mid-forties. Due to circumstances, my folks had to take me out of
parochial school and transferred me to public school. John and I lost
touch at that point.
Six or so years later we met again when I went to Polytechnic high school (link below)
and we picked up our friendship again. He had become friends with John
Ferretti and the three of us became inseparable; by the time we got to
our senior year, we were a wild trio!
When we graduated from high school in 1958, the three of us got a five
room apartment on Nob Hill; the rent was $75 a month or $25 for
each of us! I was making $125 a month so I had a hundred to spend as I
pleased. I lived like a king. However, Ferretti got drafted; John couldn't afford splitting the rent two ways and i
couldn't afford the place by myself so we split up again but stayed in touch this time.
In
1959 John met Chris, whose last name I can't remember, and they got
married. They had an adorable little boy they named Brian.
The
photos below are from one evening we spent together in 1960; it was just about
this time of year during the holidays. They are scans of
3-D slides I took (
link below) which I gave to John years ago. If I find others, I'll add them.
1960
John
and Chris split up at some point and she took Brian with her. Once
again, John and I lost contact with each other until around 2000 when we
reconnected again but I can't remember how.
Our
friendship was interrupted physically in 2020 because of COVID-19 but
we talked on the phone sporadically until June of this year when I
stopped hearing from him entirely. I discovered his phone was
disconnected and he didn't reply to my emails. Last week a friend
suggested I Google his name, which I did; it's how I discovered he has
gone on to the next plane of existence (link below).
So,
it seems our lives have been destined to cross no matter how much time
passes or what happens. We have been friends again and again for over
seventy years but it seems like a blink of an eye.
This is how I will always remember him
Adios hasta la próxima, John!
Viewfinder link:
Net link:
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Max, this is Bryan McLaughlin, I would love to thank you for the wonderful comments, I’m amazed at the photos, I hadn’t seen them before
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