More Spirit

In an earlier post, John's sister, Jes, wrote of her emotions during the recent Springsteen concert at Nationals Park and his theme for the night -- ghosts.  Here's another excerpt from the concert in Bruce's on words and song about that theme.

Five? How about Seven Johns (& a Michael, too)!

In an earlier post, I made an imprecise reference to John's nephew JB being the fifth successive generation to bear the moniker John Leonard. As pointed out in the comments section by Bentley's great aunt, JB's great, great, great grandfather was also John Leonard. While I always knew him referred to as Maurice, his first name was actually John. In fact, his father, Bentley's great, great, great, great grandfather, who was the first Leonard to arrive in the United States from Ireland (in 1869) was also John Leonard. And, to complete the circle, the original John Leonard from seven generations ago was the son of Michael Leonard! So, JB's paternal derivation of his name is as follows:

• Michael Leonard (1826-1882) great, great, great, great, great grandfather
• John Leonard (1850-1909) great, great, great, great grandfather
• John Maurice Leonard (1875-1901) great, great, great grandfather
• John William Leonard (1898-1941) great, great grandfather
• John (Jack) William Leonard (1923-2008) great grandfather
• John (J.) William (Bill) Leonard (1952- ) grandfather
• John William Leonard (1976-2007) uncle
• John Bentley Leonard (2012- )

A 162 years of successive John Leonards and counting!

Spirit of the Night

As my dad previously mentioned, we had the chance to go see The Boss in Washington DC last week and it was an absolutely amazing concert!  And just like my dad, I couldn't help but be filled with emotions surrounding John.  One of the reasons for the emotional impact of the concert was Bruce's theme for the night: "Ghosts".  He mentioned that as kids, we fear ghosts... but as we age and lose loved ones, ghosts become less scary and become a part of our lives as they walk among us and within us. They become Spirits in the Night (which was one of the best played songs of the night).  Bruce, as I assume, was referring to the loss of one of his bandmates and a good friend, Clarence Clemons, the BIG MAN on the saxophone.  And there was a lovely tribute to him on stage with a mirage of pictures with background music played by his nephew who took his place in the E Street Band.  Although this was a mournful moment in the concert, I appreciated it immensely and realized that while it's sad to have so many ghosts, I am also blessed to have many spirits looking out from above and within- as I feel John around me.  While I heard others around us complain of the slowed down tempo, I was taking in the moment and feeling the emotions of the night.  Just like life, the concert was a roller coaster of emotions but since Bruce and his band are talented artists, the roller coaster just makes you feel more alive!  Thanks Bruce!

JW and Bruce -- Then and Now

Memories of JW. They are there every day. Without exception, he is the first thought I have every morning and the last thought I have every night -- and in between, JW will leap to the forefront of my mind multiple times everyday without any rhyme or reason other than the fact that he is my son and I love him and I miss him so, so much.

It has always been my objective to focus my memories of JW on how he lived rather than how he died -- what was rather than what could have been. Nonetheless, it's impossible to erase from my memory the circumstances of his death.

In that regard, I instinctively knew that it was not a wise move to go to any concert, let alone a Bruce Springsteen concert, on April 1, 2012. For 2012 was not only five years since that fateful 2007, but both the celestial and the scriptural calendar aligned perfectly between those two years. Nonetheless, that was the date that Springsteen had set for Washington, DC for his Wrecking Ball tour and Springsteen means so much to JW's mom and his music has been a source of strength for her, especially over the past five years.

So, on April 1st, off to the Verizon Center we went. In that it was five years to both the day and date (and Palm Sunday to boot) that JW had made his first visit to a hospital emergency room on what would prove to be the first day of the last week of his life -- I knew that I would relive life minute by minute not only for that day five years prior, but everyday for the next week. Thus, I must have been quite a sight at that concert, slumped in my seat while 17,000 people where singing and dancing in the aisles.

With that thought in mind, JW's mom, sister and I (along with Jes' good friend), went off to another Springsteen Wrecking Ball concert this past Friday at Nationals' Park. This time, I was determined not to rehash my emotions from last April but rather to experience the concert in the manner JW lived his life, with gusto and relish. It made all the difference in the world and made Friday one of the best concerts I ever attended. Thanks, JW for your continuing lessons as to how to live life. And by the way, I had a beer for you.

To get a flavor of what the night was like, click on the YouTube link below and listen to the instrumental portion of "Racing in the Street" with Roy Bitten on piano, Max Weinberg on drums, and Gary Talent on bass giving it their all -- just as JW gave it his all when he had the chance, to include just having a good time such as attending an outstanding concert.

Five John's!

Little JB is the fifth successive generation to bear the name John Leonard.

Bentley's great-great-grandfather is John William Leonard (1891-1941)
Bentley's great-grandfather is John (Jack) William Leonard (1923-2008)
Bentley's grandfather is John (J.) William (Bill) Leonard (1952- )
Bentley's Uncle is John William (JW) Leonard (1976-2007)
And now: John Bentley (JB) Leonard (2012- )

Five generations, 121 years and counting!

 



Meet John's Nephew

John Bentley Leonard

born September 3, 2012

Alexandria, VA

2lbs., 15oz.

(3 months premature)

Mommy's first touch!

For more info on Bentley, see his mommy's blog.