Dammit man.........weird feeling..........it has been almost two weeks since he died (Mardi Gras Day, 2/13/18), of a heart attack while staying in a damn hotel room in North Mississippi, working a job (a Geologist, reading core samples), and I am just now to a point that I can talk about him without tearing up. We met in first grade in the early 60's and discovered that we were fairly close neighbors as well. While we ran in the same circles growing up, our freshman year in college is when we really bonded as best friends, with the same love of duck hunting in the Mobile River Delta. For 42 years, we hunted all but two openers together (I was out of town in 1981, and this past year, his lifelong back issues held him back), and the hours spent in duck blinds and fishing boats over our lifetime, were the stuff of a many incredible memories. Lots of good and bad experiences, and if there was ever a "McGyver" like partner you wanted around when things went South, he was one of the best! An out of the box thinker, whose creative ideas in tight situations, saved our asses on more than one occasion. We spent so much time together in a boat, and always seemed to be on the same page, no matter the subject. Losing such a close friend, is as if a part of you dies with them. Tally Ho Michael Frank Johnson, and here's to no more back pain that steals your sleep!
P.S. - Please save me a spot in that big duck blind