Have You Ever Heard of John Larson?

Everyday when I leave my house, especially on the brisk windy days of fall, I see a man from down the street taking his daily walk. He is dressed in a beige leather bomber, jeans, sneakers, big glasses and a bright red hat, most probably knitted by his 90 year old neighbor who gave it to him for a holiday gift, pulled down around his ears and forehead. He wears a serious face yet not one that has much concentration. It more seems like he forgot how to smile, or no longer knows how to show emotion on his face.

He walks with a limp, his right leg slower than his left. His hands are shoved deep into his pockets. He walks up and down the main streets and side streets. Many times he wonders onto our street, making his rounds around the adjoining cul de sacs.

Occasionally he will start up a conversation with you. The first thing he asks you is if you've ever heard of John Larson. No, you have already asked us, is the usual reply. He says he doesn't remember because he has no short-term memory.

Give him another second and he will go on to tell you that he was once a normal young adult. He was at a party and got into the car with his friend to go home. They were both drunk. They crashed, his friend died, he survived. DON'T EVER DRINK AND DRIVE he says slowly and forcefully, in his eerie monotone. John Larson is dead and me, he continues, I am not the same person I once was, nor will I ever be.

What's amazing to me is that this was a man who once had his whole life ahead of him, and all opportunity and potential ripped away from him on one fateful night. For the rest of his life he is a walking, talking reminder of this. Remarkably, his house is directly across the street from the local high school, a place where the message is most pertinent.

Who knows what his life would have turned out to be had he not been in that accident, however now he relays this message from person to person, sometimes repeatedly. With his compromised understanding of social boundaries he literally shares this with everyone he meets and perpetuates the memory and message of John Larson.