Jeris Johnson said, “I stood alone with his words but without his goodbye.”
Jeris Johnson said, “I met a man as he walked on the edge of the sky / He gave me the keys to his castle and started to cry.”
Before age 14, Jeris Johnson was playing on his first drum set—a cheap Walmart kit his parents bought him and for his 14th birthday, Jeris’s parents decided it was time to buy him some “real drums” because his skills and dedication were clearly evident. After searching Craigslist, the Johnson parents found what they were looking for and met with the seller at his house. An elderly Vietnam veteran opened the door and explained that he was looking for someone to take care of the drum kit that he had played his entire life because he was no longer physically able to play his instrument and when he heard Jeris Johnson test his drums, the veteran started to cry. The veteran said, “All of these days that escaped / Have led me to you, and now I'm suffocating”. The veteran knew Jeris was meant to take his drums, so it was a “bittersweet” moment to find the person to whom these drums rightfully belonged.
Jeris Johnson said, “My last breath that I take I give to you… It's too late for me, but not for you.”
Some time passed, and when it was Christmas, an unknown vehicle arrived at the Johnson home. It was the veteran. The veteran was so compelled by Jeris Johnson’s playing that he gave Jeris his entire musical collection, all of the things he had accumulated throughout his life. That Christmas, Jeris spent the day in the garage listening to the veteran’s life story, so the veteran gifted both his life story and the equipment for Jeris to create his own legacy.
Jeris Johnson said, “I stood alone with his words but without his goodbye.”
Jeris expected that the veteran would act as a mentor to him, transferring his life-long skills, too, especially since Jeris had been receiving drum lessons from him. Still, after that Christmas, “he completely disappeared without a trace." Despite repeated attempts to contact the veteran, the Johnsons could not manage to get ahold of him. In the end, John considered this man an angel who came “to deliver a gift and a message. I watched him float away and leave me with only a memory." To honor the veteran’s impact on his life, Jeris Johnson wrote a song after his name— “John.”
Work Cited
Johnson, Jeris. “Jeris Johnson - John (Official Video).” YouTube, 8 Mar. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-d3FzFOAGQ.
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