Monday, January 23, 2006

John Wesley Carr, R. I. P.

My sister just called to say that John Carr had committed suicide. You didn't know John, and I can't say that I did, either. I haven't seen him in nearly 40 years. But I remember when he was born because I was friends with his brother and sisters, and his mother as well. He was one of those babies who came along as a kind of surprise, I think, so his siblings were much older. I used to visit them, and when John was old enough, I'd play games with him: Cootie and jacks, mostly. I used to be pretty good at jacks. After he started reading, I let him borrow one of my Bomba the Jungle Boy books. That was about the time I was going away to college, and I didn't think about the book again until it arrived here in Alvin a few years ago with a short note from John, thanking me for letting him borrow it. I wonder if even then he was thinking about tying up some loose ends. He suffered from severe depression, and I believe that medication would have helped him, but he refused to take it. Now he's dead, and all I can think of is the little tow-headed boy I used to play jacks with. Damn.

3 comments:

Cap'n Bob said...

Sorry to hear that, Bill. I hope he's found peace.

Anonymous said...

That's sad. I'm sorry and hope he's found peace too.

Anonymous said...

You reminded me of all the days I spent on my best friend's porch (or her on mine) playing Cootie and Jacks. We used a golf ball because it bounced better and gave more time to scoop up the jacks. (Cheating, maybe, but it worked for us.)

That is so sad about Mr. Carr. My thoughts are with his family.