Now for the bad news. As a farm boy, like me, John had to do morning and evening chores milking the cows. One hot summer afternoon when he was milking the cows, a thunderstorm was brewing. It was approaching fast and John went to close the barn windows. There was a steel cable on the outside of the barn by the window, and as he reached up to close the window, lightning struck the transformer by the road. The charge traveled to the barn wires and then to the steel cable. The lightning strike literally threw him backwards. He landed in the manure gutter behind the cows, unconscious and stiff as a board, with his arms outstretched. His dad raced to the barn and they took him to the hospital.

After many tests, doctors found that much of the nerves throughout his body were burned. There were many years of pain and therapy. But John, like me, was a fighter. He eventually became successful in the insurance business.

There is one other thing. John learned early on that there is no such word as "I can't." He struggled for many years like me, but under different circumstances. But he never gave up. Neither did I.