A Mark of Rememberance

When in high school, JW was interested in many things, to include getting his ear pierced and getting a tattoo. John's Dad, although a product of the 1960's, tended to be a tad more conservative when it came to such mutilations of the body. For example, John's Dad would always agree to JW getting his ear pierced, as long as he allowed his Dad to do it using a hammer and nail out on the work bench in the garage. So it was no surprise that, on his post-high school graduation trip to Ocean City, JW came back with his ear pierced.

It was shortly thereafter that John went and got a tattoo. If memory serves correctly, it was when one of his best friends, Keith, came to visit. Although the summer time, the recollection is of JW coming back home with a long sleeved shirt, somewhat trepidatious about letting his Dad see the tattoo. A photo from Keith's visit is below -- it must have been JW's 18th birthday.

John's tattoo was of the biohazard symbol. It was from the hardcore punk/heavy metal band named Biohazard and the symbol can be seen below.

John's tattoo can be clearly seen in the very same picture which eventually became his prayer card. It is the picture taken of John along the Inca Trail in the middle of a three day hike over two 13,000 ft. peaks on the way to Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes. It was chosen for his prayer card because the picture captures the pride and sense of accomplishment John had, both for the successful hike as well as for living a life well-lived.

Well, after almost seven years of thinking about it, and with the encouragement of John's little sis, John's Dad finally took the plunge and got his own biohazard tattoo. Same tattoo, same position on the arm.

Not to be outdone, John's sis also got her own tattoo. It's a four leaf clover with JW's initials in the middle.

Not that anything is required to remember -- but the tattoo is a fitting remembrance that brings a faint smile to my face many times a day -- it is so John!

Another Addition to the Pantheon of JW Quilts by Mom

John's mom recently completed yet another quilt made, in part, from the remnants of JW's clothing.  This time, the quilt was for one of John's best friends, Keith, on the occasion of his birthday.  Some insight into the depth of John's and Keith's friendship can be found at this earlier post.

The theme of the quilt reflected where JW and Keith first met, at Brussels American School when we had the opportunity to live in Belgium in the late 80's and early 90's. As you can see on the quilt, the school's nickname is the Brigands. John spent his first two years of high school there as part of the class of 1994.  In fact, that class is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and information regarding their plans can be found at this link.

The first picture below of Keith holding the quilt has been added to the pantheon of all the JW quilts John's mom has made over the post seven years, with many more to come.

A Good St. Patrick's Day to Ya

2005 -- the year JW's little brother came back from his year-long deployment to Iraq -- the three Leonard kids returned to the land of their ancestors to celebrate in Dublin St. Patrick's Day and Mike's safe return from combat.  It is always heart-warming to us to know that our three children are not only siblings, but best friends as well, an obvious conclusion after watching the below slideshow to the music of Dropkick Murphy singing "Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye."

I'd imagine that in heaven, everyday is St. Patrick's Day.

A good St. Patrick's Day to ya, Johnny.

Save the Date

A special invite goes out to all of John's friends and classmates from Brussels American School and St. Mary's Ryken High School Classes of '94 who are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year! (click on image to enlarge) To read about last year's fest and to see pictures, go to this link.