I just got the news that John E. Anderson passed away today. I met him once and here is the story.
Back in 1999, it was my second day at work at The Anderson School. I was hurrying up the steps into the cmplex with about 2 minutes to spare, to get to my desk on time. Suddenly a crazy-looking man in jogging clothes smiled excitedly at me and waved, and gestured me over. At first I was going to ignore him, wondering if he was homeless, insane, or had mistaken me for an old friend. But I did go over to see what he was so animated about.
"Hi!", he said. "I'm John Anderson! This statue is of me!" (I looked, and it was indeed a good likeness of the guy.) "People leave me money, Japanese tourists like to put coins here. I give it to charity. But today someone left me candy! No one has left candy before! I'm going to give it to my grandkids!"
It definitely made his day, and he was so excited that he just had to share with someone. I was the first person to happen by and hear his story. A nice anecdote to welcome me to the school that bears his name. And funnily enough, in the ensuing 5 years that I worked there, I never encountered the man again.
RIP, Mr. Anderson. I hope that someone leaves candy in your honor today.
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2 comments:
this really touched my heart :)
He was nice - he went to our church, and I had no idea he was *that* John Anderson. That's a great story.
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