Post by bpicofounders on Feb 15, 2010 11:15:11 GMT -5
A visit from Tom Johnson:
When I was young my Biological Father was an active motorcycle gang member. Although I have very negative feelings associated with that part of my life, There were some favorable memories also.
Tom Johnson was also a member of the same gang but he was cut from a different mold. Tom spent a lot of time showing me that I was special and told me all the time that I could grow up to do anything I wanted with my life. He often pointed out the bad influences around me and would remind me that that was not a path for me.
Tom was not a hypocrite and showed me what was right and wrong whenever he could. He quit the gang of bikers and went to college. After earning a degree in broadcast communication he pursued a career in broadcasting. This took Tom away from Michigan, Biker gangs and delinquencies to a new life as a DJ at a radio station in Iowa. I often thought about Tom before I went to sleep at night.
One night I got into bed for the night and as I lay down Tom was sitting in my closet door smiling at me. This was not a surprised to me because Tom was a jokester and this was not unusual behavior for him to startle me and laugh at my reaction. Tom did not speak to me that night, just smiled. I ran down stairs and told my parents that Tom was back and had snuck into my room to scare me. My parents just looked at me without speaking for a moment. When they broke their silence I was told that Tom had passed away that morning in Iowa. Later that day I learned that he was riding his bike and was hit by a drunk driver so hard that he was thrown out into a corn field next to the road.
I feel that I had a connection to Tom and that he had just come back to say goodbye to me.
Experience as remembered by: Ericka Benson Co-Founder BPI
When I was young my Biological Father was an active motorcycle gang member. Although I have very negative feelings associated with that part of my life, There were some favorable memories also.
Tom Johnson was also a member of the same gang but he was cut from a different mold. Tom spent a lot of time showing me that I was special and told me all the time that I could grow up to do anything I wanted with my life. He often pointed out the bad influences around me and would remind me that that was not a path for me.
Tom was not a hypocrite and showed me what was right and wrong whenever he could. He quit the gang of bikers and went to college. After earning a degree in broadcast communication he pursued a career in broadcasting. This took Tom away from Michigan, Biker gangs and delinquencies to a new life as a DJ at a radio station in Iowa. I often thought about Tom before I went to sleep at night.
One night I got into bed for the night and as I lay down Tom was sitting in my closet door smiling at me. This was not a surprised to me because Tom was a jokester and this was not unusual behavior for him to startle me and laugh at my reaction. Tom did not speak to me that night, just smiled. I ran down stairs and told my parents that Tom was back and had snuck into my room to scare me. My parents just looked at me without speaking for a moment. When they broke their silence I was told that Tom had passed away that morning in Iowa. Later that day I learned that he was riding his bike and was hit by a drunk driver so hard that he was thrown out into a corn field next to the road.
I feel that I had a connection to Tom and that he had just come back to say goodbye to me.
Experience as remembered by: Ericka Benson Co-Founder BPI