Post Script # 1

            There are many aspects about John and many incidents, which can give greater insights into his way of thinking, of doing things, and into his character. There follows number of postscripts, which endeavor to provide a closer glimpse into him as a person.

            For example, there were the days working at summer camp as a dishwasher, working in later years as a waiter in the Poconos, his college days, his hobby chess, his devotion to his family, and his struggles with his limited sight, his educational achievements (as a student, as a teacher, and finally as a administrator) and his love for long walks.

 

Post Script # 2

            In approximately 1998, he began to have pain in his feet, especially after walking long distances. He had gotten into the habit of taking long walks. He would walk along the side on the streets near his house. Then he would often walk all the way to the Mount St. Francis Hermitage. It was about 5 miles away. The entrance roadway to the hermitage itself was a quarter mile. He would visit the grounds. There were out door stations on a pathway. He would say “The Stations of the Cross” and then walk the five miles home. The way was along the city of Union streets and a state road. These roadways had much traffic, but he made these many trips without accidents or incidents.

            A doctor was consulted about the pain in his feet. All this walking took a toll on his feet. His feet began to give him a lot of pain. He ended up seeing a specialist and prescription shoes were recommended. They would cost some $600.00. John was upset and surprised that a pair of shoes could cost that much. He was not happy about the extraordinary expense, but, like in so many other circumstances, he accepted it, and didn’t speak about it again. After he was fitted for the special shoes, he resumed his long walks. He said he always enjoyed someone to walk with him, but if there were no one to walk with him he would walk by himself. He continued his walks as long as he was able. His habit of long walks began in the 1990’s and ended in 1999 when his wife, concerned about his safety, told him no more long walks. The pain and inconvenience of the special shoes was very minor, compared with the new restriction of no more long walks.

 

Post Script # 3

Intellectual Discussions

            He truly enjoyed the company of others and engaging in intellectual discussions. Talking about the moral and social issues of the day was something he very much liked to do. In so many areas of his life he was limited in his ability to participate. Here was an area where he could be as effective as anyone else was and drew great enjoyment and satisfaction from these experiences.

            Often at Sally O’Connell’s house at 21 South Mountain Terrace, in Binghamton, he and others would gather for dinner, and for hours many of the issues of the day were debated and discussed. John was a great believer in principles, guidelines, and standards for people, in society and in social institutions. Issues and problems in education in politics in the church were all of great interest to him. He had very definite views on as how to deal with many problems. Many a discussion was had Sally’s house. Before and after these discussions a lovely, always delicious, array of food was served. She was a very gracious hostess. John enjoyed those gatherings very much.

 

Post Script # 4

Believed deeply in principle Standards

            He was a very principled individual. He would adamantly speak out against whatever erroneous or evil practice he encountered. Others often would tend to soft pedal an issue, or ignore an evil practice. Not John, he would denounce it matter of fact, yet forcefully characterized it for what it was - wrong or evil, etc. Often whether there were scandals in the presidency, or at the highest levels of the church, others would remain comfortably silent.

 

Post Script # 5

Liked to have people over to his house

            He also enjoyed card games at his house. Every other week the same group would play. For him it was a great excuse to get together with some of his school friends and socialize, have fun, and crack a few jokes. He was good player - but as his illness began to become more evident he just was unable to continue. After a time he would sit, put the games aside, and just socialize.

 

Post Script # 6

Late in 1999- those auto accidents

            And then there were those auto accidents. There were two of them in a short period of time. In the first accident, he told me he never saw the other car coming. The same thing happened again; he said he never saw the other car. All he heard was the sound of the crash. Shortly thereafter it was explained to him by his wife that he would not be driving anymore. This was an enormous setback for John. He was very upset about this. This was talked about many times. This restriction newly imposed, he knew would severely limit his travel (and much more importantly) his independence. He realized how life changing this would be for him. Recall how he so often traveled. He drove his car all over Endicott, Endwell, and Binghamton all during his retirement years. He made a special and a continuous effort to drive to Scranton to visit his sisters, Martha and Clair and his brother, Ed. He had made that trip for over 25 years. After retiring in 1991, he did it more often. Arriving to Scranton, often staying over night, he enjoyed visiting he relatives, especially seeing his brother Ed and his sisters Clair and Martha. He now understood very clearly he would no longer be able to do that.

 

Post Script # 7

Trips to Scranton

            He had enjoyed these trips to Scranton very much. Now if he wanted to go anywhere, he would have to be driven. He also enjoyed the company of others. He just wanted to relate, to fit in, and “to connect” as he would phrase it. Spoke of meeting with people on the weekend, “hoping to connect”. He used the word ‘connect’ long before it became common to use in this context. He also cherished intellectual discussions. Talking about the events of the day school related problems and issues was an activity he would enthusiastically participate in and from which he would gain much satisfaction.

            John enjoyed these times enormously. He was a bright, intelligent man, had read a great deal, had experienced a lot of things and now was desirous of sharing his ideas, his insights, his knowledge, and his experiences with others. Here was a setting where he was on a very equal footing with everyone else. He enjoyed the intellectual exchange.

 

Post Script # 8

Just wanted to fit in

            He worked very hard at being just like everyone else. He just wanted to be treated as any other person - no special treatment; no exceptions were to be made for him. It was one of his chief desires to fit in, be accepted, be a part of a team, a process or an endeavor. Perhaps this is why he joined and worked with Meals on Wheels for so many years. It was teamwork; it was helping others.

 

Post Script # 9

CCD/Confirmation Classes

            He liked to teach religious education. At his parish there were no opportunities offered to him. So he inquired at our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Vestal. He worked at Vestal Central High School and the church was just a few blocks away.

            He was given a Confirmation Class. He would meet one night a week with these teenage children who were nearing the age for Confirmation. He said he gained much satisfaction doing it, although the children were hard to manage at times. These were public school children. He mentioned he always enjoyed those classes; he taught them for a number of years. (When John was at Castle Gardens and he was taken out for a ride around the area, he remembered the church, wished to stop there and visit.)

 

Post Script # 10

What ever happened to the money?

            John lost his eye in 1948. The following year at the Apawanna Golf Course where the tragic incident occurred, a benefit was held. In July 1949, they had a “John Fanning Day” at the course. Events were held and all the proceeds went to John Fanning. His picture was taken with a group of golfers and it appeared in the local newspaper.

            Over $1000 was collected. Doesn’t seem much, but in 1949 that was a considerable sum. Nevertheless, (it should be added) compared with the loss of sight and the disfigurement John suffered, it was a very small sum.

            Well, what ever happened to the money? It was put away and saved for John. He would be able to spend it for his education or whatever worth while purpose he had in mind. Well that didn’t happen. John never saw much of that money. Tough time got tougher and the money, bit by bit, little by little, was used to pay family bills and the like.

            John knew what had happened. It became another one those things he chose not to discuss.

 

Post Script # 11

That Tragic Day

            One more important observation about this tragic incident needs to be made. Golfers know that most golfers tend to slice the ball. This means they hit the ball incorrectly and it curves to the right, that is, for right-handed golfers. It’s very common. So to prevent getting hit with a stray sliced ball, the caddy was to stay far to the left of the fairway. Left-handed golfers are very rare; unfortunately this golfer, Ben La Strange was left-handed. When he sliced the ball, hitting it incorrectly, the ball would slice to the left, not the right.

            Unfortunately John had been instructed to stay to the left side of the fairway, since almost all golfers are right handed. He was told to stand some 180 yards to 200 yards down the left side of the fairway to prevent being hit by a stray ball. He went down the fairway and stood far off the left, looking toward the fairway to see where the balls were landing. And so it was that the left-handed golfer sliced the ball very badly and struck John in the right side of his face, seriously injuring his right eye. Ironically and tragically, John was doing precisely what he had been told to do.

 

Post Script # 12

On limited sight

            When an individual loses sight in one eye their vision is now one dimensional, that is, there is no depth perception. How close or how far away an object is, is almost totally judged by the size of the object. There is no other reference point or frame of reference. If the mind had a memory of a familiar object and knows from memory how large or small some object is they can estimate the distance away. This judgment/evaluation is the main determinant of how close or how far away the person is from that object. Take for example, driving a car. How close you are to the car in front of you, is completely determined by the perception of the size of the car. If very small, the distance is great, if very large, the distance is small.

            The one sighted person does not have the enormous advantage or benefit of the two sighted person, a person with sight in both eyes.

            Viewing an object from two different positions (two different eyes) gives the viewer a much more in depth and a panoramic view of the object. If we could turn to nature for a moment, and examine some gifted birds of the world, the eagle or the raven. Birds of this type have outstandingly good vision. They can see every thing to the left of them, everything to the right of them, everything of course in front of them and a great deal of - even see things behind them in the case of animals. The range of motion of their eyes and the positioning of their eyes more to the side of the head gives them remarkable vision. There is the ability to view the surroundings with unbelievable scope and breath of vision.

            Such vision can truly be a wonderful blessing. At Disney World there is an attraction where they have a movie screen spread over 360° degrees. Unlike the typical movie screens, this encompasses a complete circle, 360°. What a broad and fulfilling and exhilarating vision to have. Makes a wonderful attraction.

            All that to say this, vision can be full and extended and rap around, causing exhilaration, joy, or it can be just the opposite. Limited, reduced, tunnel like and thus causing privation, frustration, actual physical loss of range of vision especially to the left or right.

            The individual once knowing a fuller vision of things is now limited perhaps with a 20% to 30% reduction in his plane vision.

            The individual now becomes much more limited. A two sighted person (can see with good vision) has about a 180° to 220° plane of sight. The one sighted person has his vision reduced to about 135% with the bridge of the nose becoming very prominent in limiting vision. This becomes an unnatural and seemingly harsh barrier to sight. With the loss of the sight in the right eye the left bridge of the nose blocks every extended vision to the right. Looking to the left is so much easier and conceivably more comfortable. Looking to the right and noticing repeatedly the confinning barrier of the bridge of the nose could become very disheartening.

            These are just some of the realities and consequences of the loss of sight. Again, why dwell on such things? Because he had to deal with and resolve such things. Having limited vision can be very depressing, can feel very entrapping. The person can begin to feel trapped in his own body unable to view the world as others do. One view life as in a cave or tunnel; it can be very depressing. One never gets a broader view of things. One’s view is always restricted; there is no peripheral vision.

            And the individual knows with absolute certainty things will not get better. Actually, they could get worse. Sight in the good eye one day could be lost. With the result of the total blindness. If one eye is closed for an extended period of time or if an individual sustains an eye injury, required an eye patch, the individual will quickly come to this just stated realization. It is very confining, a type of entrapment, a kind of being closed off from the visual world. Knowing that you will never see the world as you once did, can, for some, be an incredibly, awesomely difficult, painful thing. Yet this is what happened to him. It happened to him at the age of 12. He was very young, a very young person when it happened. He went all through his teenage years, young adult years, all the remaining years trapped into this visual condition not seeing like other people see. He was a marvel. He worked hard to not let it make a difference. He did not let it deter him. He went on. He would almost never talk about his problem.

 

Post Script # 13

John’s friend in the Poconos

            Cathy was the name of a girl John met in the Poconos. She was a very beautiful young lady, very beautiful. John met her at the resort. They use to kid around a lot; always joking and saying funny things to one another. She was about 22 years old and John was about 27 years old at the time. They really hit it off well; very, very compatible, very comfortable in each other’s presence. This was a huge development in John’s life - why? Because they started dating. They would go out together almost every evening. Things were definitely heating up, moving along in a fine fashion. They were together for the rest of the summer. Those close to John and knowing his situation just did not want John to be hurt, If this relationship came to an abrupt end. John definitely was very, very found of Cathy. They went to movies together, went out to dinner together, went swimming together and whenever they had free time they were together. They were much enjoyed each other’s humor, and caring and thoughtful ways. It was beautiful to observe. How would it play out?

            The summer was coming to an end. John suddenly has to undergo surgery for a hernia. Apparently by heavy lifting, he developed a lower abdominal hernia and was operated on in Scranton’s Mercy Hospital. He was in extreme pain after the surgery. Cathy went to see him every day. She was with him throughout the entire recovery period. Those near to John wondered what would happen to John and Cathy. They found out a few weeks later. John informed everyone they had broken up and they would not be seeing each other anymore. Nothing else was said. John spoke rarely about her after that.

 

Post Script # 14

            John had a practice of reminding himself of all the churches he had ever visited. He would get by himself and for relaxation and a pastime would slowly recollect, ponder in his mind of the churches he had spent time in. It brought him comfort and a good feeling. Perhaps he would ponder the young lady he knew for a brief period and chose to think about her. He repeated an ancient proverb to me one time. “Better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all.”  

  

Last Postscript

 

            Reflecting on this last postscript, it is a bit inappropriate to end on such a sad note. There was a side or aspect of his life that should have much more emphasis. That aspect was his humor and his very kindly demeanor. He always was friendly and gracious. Always would speak well of other people. Two of his brothers had serious moral failings or lapses. He never ever spoke about their faults. No one ever learned about their misdeeds from him. He would talk about people’s good characteristics. One of his favorite phrases was “Don’t find fault”.

            He always enjoyed telling a good joke. Gene Scanlon, a cousin of ours, or a near cousin, when I told him about dad’s passing, he responded very positively. He remarked he remembered our dad as a very kindly, and very humorous man, your dad always made you comfortable and would often have a  joke to share, he said.

            There are so many more fine characteristics of this wonderful man that have not been included here. So many more postscripts could be written. If they were written we would have a much better idea who he was and how he conducted himself. He was an inspiration to many inside his family and outside his family. May he be long remembered for how he devoted his life to his family and how he influenced the lives of so many.