Jonathan WInters & Jon

Proverbs 17:22

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

With the passing of Jonathan Winters, truly an amazing comedic genius, it got me thinking about another Jon who was the funniest kid I ever knew.

Jon was one of my best friends in junior high school. We were in an 8th grade US History class together with teacher Mr. Gicking, who loved to regale us with stories that had nothing to do with the subject of history. Mostly college tales of misadventures. I can still remember some of the stories today. Ex-Lax chocolate icing on a birthday cake for one. Gicking was a funny guy--not a particularly scholarly teacher--but Jon was funnier. He made strange voices, cut farts, and did all kind of stunts in class that would cause me to bust out laughing. Jon would get me all riled up with something ridiculous and I had to fight back the guffaws. I was the straight man.

My life was pretty difficult back in 8th grade. I had a malevolent bully John McGovern and his gang of troll-like friends harassing me. My parents were divorcing. 8th grade is hell for everyone, some just have an extra helping of hell. And Jon's hilarity did much to lighten my days.    

The last time I ever talked to Jon was when in 11th grade he walked me to the nurses office because I had split open my eyebrow on a chain-link fence pole when playing Ultimate Frisbee in Gym class. I pushed on the fence to keep from colliding into it and the fence gave sway but the pole it was attached to did not. The Gym teacher thought it a wise idea for me to be escorted to the school health care provider. That was the last time I ever talked to Jon. We had gone our separate ways, hung out in different crowds. He was super-cool, I was sort of cool. The last time I saw him was in the Fall of 12th grade when he was reading a newspaper at the front desk in the Library. I was going to go up and say "Hi" to him. But, I decided not to. We were practically strangers by then.

Jon died that weekend from passing out on a road from drinking too much and a girl in high school backed up her car over him. I never got to say good-bye. I didn't go to the funeral. Almost everyone in my grade did. Jon's death was one of those losses that shocked the school. A psychic shaking where the teenagers prone to be reckless were reminded of the consequences that sometimes follow dangerous behavior. Adults can talk on and on, but a dead kid is an object lesson not easily evaded by adolescents.

I still recall Jim Gardner from Action News in Philadelphia making a brief announcement before a commercial break that Jon ....., 18, from ....., was killed. Something that day died within me, the love of laughter. My life was sad and the loss of Jon kind of sealed the sadness. I didn't really ever laugh again as a rule until the end of college after God had started to rekindle joy in me. Bringing an emotionally dead Lazarus back to life.