Up, Down and Around Our Town

Soon the family of John Tripp will post a final entry in Up, Down and Around Our Town. Please check back to read their words.

The following was written on the day of John's funeral in Canton, MO by Steve Looten.

It's been a week, a terrible week
For all of us to deal.
John disappeared from our lives.
We don't know what to feel.

Last night hundreds of friends dropped by
To express their sorrow and shock.
Big John was our mentor and confidant.
The Big Guy was our rock.

We gather here on campus
Where John performed with such flair.
But he might not have lasted the first semester
Without finding the golf course over there.

He almost spent as much time in classes
As he did at shooting for par.
But he had to stick around here anyway,
His Dad took off with his car!

But he got around town just fine.
John found plenty of fun after dark.
If he wasn't stopping for a marshmellow creme
He found action down at Riverfront Park.

I don't know when they ever cracked a book.
(I'm talking about Schmelter, McClintock and Hall.)
Throw in Hogan and all the others,
They were always having a ball!

How did John become respected
With this collection of social missteps?
Classes never got in the way of a good education
With the "Party Boy" Sig Eps.

Through all those crazy times
They became brothers forever.
And even today they'd go to war
If they could only go together.

Like all of us, they've lost their leader.
John was captain of our team.
Today our world feels so empty
There's a huge void, it seems.

But now John's spirit lives on.
He can be with us every day.
Just like the Sig Eps here at Culver
John's spirit is here to stay.

Let's remember the love he expressed
With those words he truly did mean
When, in his column, he wrote that
"Wilson may be the cutest kid he's ever seen."

Let's remember the boldness John showed
When he had a person he wanted to see.
Like we he showed up at Senator Simon's office
With his entire family.

Let's remember his love of simple things
Like the Park Band concerts at summer's night.
And a dinner of fresh tomatoes and sweet corn
When they were "just right."

Let's remember John's courage
When he'd do things we would not.
Like when he stormed into Victoria's Secret
And shouted out, "What's Hot?"

Let's remember his goofiness
When John would screw up totally.
Like when his 8-foot ceiling couldn't handle
When he bought the ten-foot Christmas Tree!

Let's remember his playfulness
When he talked of Tomlinson, Cifaldi and Lipka.
And how much it tickled him
When people thought he was Mike Ditka!

Let's remember the joy on his face
When he'd hear his daughters sing.
And he'd follow his father's words,
"It's never too late to do the right thing."

On the Hill, next to this hill
John always played to win.
But he learned when life hands you a bogey
Just tee it up again!

But every time John took a swing
He believed that shot could be great.
Like John, our best score will always come
When we choose to hit it straight.