My Friend John

[szwak]

I must admit that I was shocked to see that John passed away. I met John at LSU and he and I were bouncers at The Bengal Bar on Highland Road [LSU] and we played Rugby together. John and I also played on LSU's football team together at one point though I did not know him well during that time. John was a great 7's player in rugby and could drag the entire opposing team down the field all at the same time. It made pitching the ball hard but once pitched, it insured a score. One 7's match, we beat the Texas rugby team about 100-0 in a fairly short 7's match. I have a collection of stories on John and even an LSU Gumbo [LSU's annual yearbook] showing us playing rugby. After John left to go sumo, we were out of touch and then I went to law school. One morning I was sitting in front of my TV and low and behold there was John [as Earthquake] screaming into my screen on a Sunday morning. I wrote John via WWF, somewhere up in CT or thereabouts, and it took him several months to get the letter but he responded. It was nice to catch up with him. John was one of the most likeable and pleasant men you could ever meet. He had hundreds of friends at LSU and was a most visible and liked athlete. John and I were students before Shaq. Shaq later reminded me of John in that Shaq was equally a gentle giant who always wore a large smile and befriended all who knew him at LSU.

I am sorry to hear that John is gone. He was a good friend and a one of a kind guy.

David A. Szwak, Esq.
Shreveport, Louisiana
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