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Today was a tough day.  I spoke at the memorial service of a dear friend and arrowhead hunting buddy, John K. Smith of Mabank, TX.  I met John back in 1994, and we did a lot of walking, grubbing, and hunting together over the last 21 years. We had more crazy adventures than I can describe here, but I enjoyed every one of them.  He was a hunter, fisherman, artifact collector, and story teller par excellence.  My life is richer for having known him, and I want to thank his wife Suzann and his kids for asking me to come and speak at his life celebration today.  It was a gathering he would have been proud of!  Lots of great stories, friends, family, and food.

OK, just ONE story here. Back in 1996, our local lake got about 8 feet low and we discovered an Indian camp that had never been touched by anyone.  Tons of pottery, firecracked rock, and arrow points scattered in a rather loose mud - the only problem was, it was in about 4 or 5 feet of water.  No problem for me - I have near zero buoyancy, so I would dive down to the bottom and fill my little hand held sifter with artifact-rich mud, then stand up and sift thru it.  John was a human cork - he would try to dive and bob right back up!  So he went to Wal-Mart, bought a mailbox on a pole, punched out the back of it and replaced it with hardware cloth, and used it as a giant scoop!  He went out the next day and found 52 whole points in a single day!  (For the record, I've been doing this since 1977 and have NEVER had a 50 point day - EVER!)  I told him just how much he sucked,  and he just laughed and went out the next day and found 54 points! God, I am going to MISS this guy!  Cancer absolutely sucks.


  (BTW, John will be arriving in heaven shortly - he stopped in the middle of the Jordan River to throw out a jug line and check the gravel bars for Clovis points!)

Sorry for your loss, Indy.

Sounds like you do have some great memories of your friend.

Sorry for the loss of your friend.  You and he will be in my prayers.

You gave him the best kind of tribute, though.  The point is not in how we die, but how we live.  Sounds like your buddy lived his life.

Peace to you and his family.

The hardest thing about good friends, is losing them. The only thing harder...is not having met them in the first place.

Glad to hear you are remembering the good times. My thoughts are with you and your friends family.

Thanks guys!  I appreciate your thoughts.  Not sure why I posted this here except I just wanted you all to know about him.

John was a really great guy.

I nearly choked on my Coke when you told us what he did with the mailbox  :teddyr: :teddyr:

I'm sorry, a good friend is a great treasure. 
-Ed

Nice memories.  And life goes on.  You should be proud that your love was honored as you honored your friend.