Johnny 5

Recall the very first post to this blog wherein we related the origin of the blog's title -- that it was only after JW's death that we learned that he had wanted to be called Johnny, and in fact, was called Johnny by some of his friends. For John, I guess anything was better than the mouthful "John William" that his Mom & Dad sometimes still called him, even though he was thirty-years-old.

Well, it turns out that John had many nicknames. "$20 Johnny" was one, "Johnny 5" another. "$20 Johnny" was due to the fact that JW always showed up at a poker game with only $20.00 in his pocket. After loosing the $20.00 (which was always inevitable) and asked if he wanted to buy back in, John would always say no -- that $20.00 was his limit.

It turns out that his nickname "Johnny 5" is from the 1986 movie "Short Circuit." In that movie, the wayward robot renames himself "Johnny 5" after hearing the song "Who's Johnny?"

As such, what better tribute to JW than a "Johnny 5" Virginia Tech football jersey which his brother Mike had made earlier in the football season. After having worn it to his share of VT games this season, Mike presented the jersey to his sister Jes this holiday weekend. As indicated in these pictures, the jersey looks very good indeed on JW's little sis.

In any event, in answer to the song's lyrics, we know there is no doubt in everyone's mind as to "Who's Johnny" and what he means to all of us!