FOR CURT (10/4/09)
FOR CURT (written 10/4/09)
I PLAYED THE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS FESTIVAL LAST NIGHT IN TEXAS.
I’M ON A FLIGHT TODAY UP TO BUFFALO TO SAY GOODBYE TO ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS.
JOHN FLYNN ALSO KNOWN AS CURT PASSED AWAY.
HIS HEART STOPPED AND NOW MINES BROKEN.
I FIRST MET CURT WHEN I PLAYED AGAINST HIM IN AMHERST LITTLE LEAGUE FOOTBALL. WE WERE BOTH 11 YEARS OLD.
I WAS ON THE PATRIOTS AND HE WAS ON THE CHIEFS. WE FOUGHT HARD AGAINST EACH OTHER ONE COLD DAY ON DELLWOOD FOOTBALL FIELD.
THE PATRIOTS WON THAT DAY BUT IT GOT HEATED AND DURING THE GAME HE CHALLENGED ME TO MEET HIM AT THE 50 YARD LINE AFTER THE GAME AND FIGHT.
WHEN THE GAME ENDED BOTH TEAMS MET AT MID-FIELD TO SHAKE HANDS. I WAS EXPECTING THINGS TO GET PRETTY UGLY BUT FOR SOME REASON WHEN I MET CURT WE JUST LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND SHOOK HANDS.
A FEW YEARS LATER WE WERE BOTH ON THE AMHERST FRESHMAN FOOTBALL TEAM. I PLAYED TAILBACK AND HE PLAYED FULLBACK. THEN ON JUNIOR VARSITY (WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP) THEN VARSITY (WINNING ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP). IT WAS ME AND CURT I WAS #20 HE WAS #22. WE WON A LOT OF GAMES TOGETHER.
A MILLION YEARS LATER HE’S STILL ONE OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS. WE TALK EVERY WEEK.
I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY SHOWS CURT CAME TO SEE ME PLAY. LET’S SEE CHUCK BERRY (NEW HAMPSHIRE & NEW JERSEY), BB KING (SYRACUSE), ALLMAN BROTHERS (SOMEWHERE) , ROY BUCHANAN (TORONTO & SCHENECTADY), YANKEE JACK (SAN DIMAS, CA) BUDDY GUY (ALBANY) GEORGE THOROGOOD (ATLANTIC CITY), BO DIDDLEY (SOMEWHERE), SUSAN TEDESCHI (HARPER’S FERRY), T.H. AND THE WRECKAGE (EVERYWHERE), CUB KODA (CURT’S HOUSE), MELLENCAMP (SOMEWHERE). THERE WAS NEW ORLEANS, THE COLISEUM IN PASADENA, WATER STREET IN ROCHESTER, CASINO BY THE SEA ON CAPE COD, BOSTON MANY TIMES, BUFFALO MANY TIMES, LAS VEGAS, SARATOGA SPRINGS, CLEVELAND,, NEW YORK CITY, TIJUANA, MEXICO, CLUBS, THEATERS, FESTIVALS, SHEDS, TOO MANY TO COUNT TOO MANY TO REMEMBER.
GOOD TIMES BUD.
LIFE WON’T BE THE SAME WITHOUT CURT.
A DO ANYTHING FOR YOU AT ANYTIME, YOUR ALWAYS WELCOME AT MY HOUSE, READY TO GO AT A MOMENTS NOTICE, GRINNING, SMILING, LIVING FOR THE MOMENT, STEAK COOKING, CHICKEN WING CHAMP, ALWAYS GOT YOUR BACK, LATE NIGHT CALLING, GENTLE GIANT WITH A HEART OF GOLD. THAT WAS OUR BUDDY CURT.
THIS ONE HURTS…..YOU WILL BE MISSED. REST IN PEACE JOHN FLYNN
TH #20
TH,
Your words captured the essence of Johnny. So many stories, so many memories, and now so many tears. I will miss our friend. God bless brother Curt.
Jim
TH,
I came to your site to thank you for the Wildhorse show last evening and describe my anticipation of the upcoming Simple Man Cruise.
Instead, I find you surrounded in a blanket of hurt. Lifelong friends are golden in which you share a rich past…I’m sorry you’ve lost your friend.
Comfort to you and all that loved him.
~Souette
Hey Tom,
I’m really very sorry for yours and your friends’ loss. Your words read like a sweet eulogy. A sweet and sincere expression. I’m sure the angels sighed as well.
Eric
Tom, love you man and feeling the pain. When I get too much time to think, I often find a tear in my eye. But that tear usually is shining above a smile! If I get where he’s gone to, I know I’ll hear a “Hey Tut!” and we’ll do a angel wing thump instead of a fist thump!
Tim
I only met Curt a couple of times but he made an instant impression on me as a warm and very kind man.
He was part of our foursome in a golf tournament with a good friend of his (Bear) and we won and I never had so much fun.
I’ve heard a lot of stories from Bear about Curt and Tommy and though I didn’t know Curt very well I will miss him.
Tommy, I am sorry for your loss and God Bless.
I was on the same Patriots team as Tom and on the field that day he and John Flynn met. We won the game 19-0 and that was great but the unique thing about things like little league football is the introduction to people you may not have other wise been exposed to.
As Tom mentioned, John (Curt) at first during the game challenged Tom to meet at mid field after the game for a fight. We where kicking there *//#/ so of course out of frustration Curt wanted a piece of who was blocking him during the game, so in a fight maybe he could get some retribution.
Instead though, at the end of the game both teams shook hands including Tom and Curt which shows what Curt was really about.
Hey Tom, thanks for writing all you did about Curt here in your From The Road section. It goes to show how much of a great friend Curt was and still is to us all.
We’ll always remember our friend.
PW