Flanagan never followed the rules, except with me. Why? I'm not sure but I'm glad I could keep him somewhat in line. I'm proud of that.
There is a formal service for him October 1st at, where else? Arapahoe Basin. Which is ironic because he was actually banned from the ski area for breaking the rules one too many times. But, it is truly a spiritual place for many of us and we all started our ski bumming careers up there.
By John abiding by the rules with me this is another story.
I don't don't know if this falls under the rule breaking category but it's a good example of how he respected me. Why? I really don't know.
John, as I've written before, was our best man in our wedding. We were leaving our house for 3 weeks for our honeymoon and asked John if he'd stay at the house. He agreed and we were all happy. Jack and I drove down the driveway and left John in charge. Naturally, he threw a party. All of our friends showed up and partied on the deck. We had just moved into the house so we really didn't have a yard or fire pit or much. But we had a great big deck with views to match. Everyone brought something to grill because that's what you do. Someone asked John to light the grill and John went into serious mode. If you've seen serious mode in John you knew he meant business. He said no one could use the grill because it was brand new and it would be just wrong to use it before Jack and Hef did. I'm sure everyone just looked at him and just busted a gut laughing thinking "what the hell?"
Well, he was serious. He wouldn't let anyone touch the "virgin" grill and I'm not sure how they cooked but that was just John. Go figure.
Sometimes I would see John on the top of Pali and it would be dumping and his mustache was caked with snow and ice. I would get off the chair and he'd give me a big hug and say "c'mon Hef. I'm gonna show you some of the best powder out here." I'd follow and when we'd get to the ski area boundary he'd duck under the rope. I would put on the breaks and say "John, I'm not going to do it." He'd try to coerce me into ducking under that rope to ski the steep gullies and I wouldn't budge. He would come back and we'd ski down, get on the lift and hike up out of the gate. After all, that's the rules. He would always follow the rules with me. I loved him for that and the Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol would not believe their eyes. He was capable.
I loved that for some reason I could get him to follow the rules. He has always been such a gentleman around me which I know some never saw that side of him.
Flanagan was a good person and a true friend. I hope I get a chance to tell some of these stories at his service on October 1st.
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2 comments:
Hi Heather,
I'm John Paul's oldest sister and I have to say you've got me in tears and laughter in telling these stories about my brother. You knew him oh so well!! ( and lived to tell) I was out there in February and he talked about you and Jack, "good people, Dee really good people" and how much both of you meant to him. As I read through your older posts I could see in my mind's eye the shennigans my dear brother was so capable of - and that age may have cut back the risk factor a bit, but he still carried on. I just want to thank you for posting these stories - they've touched my heart. I'm sorry I'm not able to be there on October 1 to hear more of his escapades - and to meet those he's shared so may years and wild tales. It's comforting to know he had so many people who cared and loved him. Thank you.
So glad to share these stories with you. I'm honored. Thank you so much for writing. I had no idea any of his family read any of this. I'm glad I got to share some of the many many good times we have had with him.
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