One of my best friends and companions when I was younger, died of a sudden heart attack last Friday. I received the information below on the passing of my cousin John from my cousin Robert (Bobby) Ramiller. John was one of I cant remember how many children (I think there were 25 in that big house in Flint, though some may have been their friends) of my Aunt Kath and Uncle Frank. They lived in a large 2 story house just off Saginaw Ave in Flint Michigan. I have many fond memories of this house and would like to share some now. There were so many rooms that you always had somewhere to go and play and explore. There was always a half full potty chair in the corner of the 2nd story hallway at the top of the stairway leading from the first floor. Ah the pleasant smells of youth that memory brings back. There was a bathroom with a very large laundry chute that dumped down into the basement which I faintly remember sliding down into a large pile of laundry, but Im getting old and senile so It may not have happened (but it sounds like something I would have done). There was a large breakfast nook in the kitchen where everyone gathered to converse and eat. There was a large wooden piano on which my Aunt used to teach piano lessons and also play songs for all of us. There was also much love in that old house. My cousin John was slightly older then me and an inspiration and also bad influence on me. He taught me how to make a very ingenious match gun with the old spring clothes pins that would light a match and throw it several feet through the air. Thank god I didnt become an arsonist after that training. He also taught me all the great shortcuts around the neighborhood after dark to prowl numerous old buildings and alleys within the neighborhood, and spy on the unsuspecting neighbors. My cousin the peeping tom. Later he was the first person I knew who had the hottest car I had ever had the pleasure of riding in. It was a vintage early 60s corvette convertible with 427 high performance engine under the hood that would get rubber in all 4 gears and had the meanest sound of any car I had ridden in. He totally propped up my status with my buddies, pissed off the neighbors when pulled up outside my house in Davison and took me for a ride laying rubber all the way down Tamarac Dr. He was so cool. Unfortunately I fell away from everyone when I joined the Navy, and John married a very nice girl and settled down. He had a great life and raised some great children who I never got to know, because upon leaving the Navy I started pursuing my own life and career. Hearing about Johns passing made me think about the good friends and acquaintances that move in and out of your life, enriching it and teaching you valuable lessons along the way. John was not just my cousin, but a buddy, and a surrogate brother and I will dearly miss him.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 01:27:18 +0000
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