Riding back from Annapolis after attending our recent Maryland Licensed Beverage Association’s Annual meeting, I was enjoying the conversation with Gary Rogow and Nick Ford of ABC Liquors when Nick mentioned that he once had some relatives who lived in Ridge.
I knew that my friend Johnny Ford’s son once lived in Ridge and quickly figured out that Nick was indeed referring to “Little Johnny.” Nick followed up by saying “He’s my first cousin.”
After I asked him who his parents were, he then told me “Buddy and Susan.” I immediately asked him “Then are you the boy in the boat?” He laughed and said “Yes, I was the boy in the boat.”
He then retold the fascinating story of how he and his Dad Buddy were rescued following a crazy mishap in the mouth of Breton Bay. This is the Enterprise’s account of that 1988 event:
Note that another irony of this story is that I took Nick’s parents Buddy and Susan’s wedding pictures. They are now divorced but I concluded my conversation with Nick by saying “Tell your Mom and Dad I said hello.”
P.S. Following Nick’s Uncle Johnny’s death, I did a Buzzyblog post on him and included the following tune because it always reminded me of him. A short time after I did so, Little Johnny popped into Buzzy’s to thank me and tell me that he had learned to play the song. He noted that now every time he does so, he plays it in memory of his Dad. Makes me feel good knowing that. I too think of Big Johnny every time I hear this: