"What this world needs is a new kind of army - the army of the kind."
~~Cleveland Amory

Hi all,

Welcome to the first JABB web page partially created from my office via laptop during my lunch break.  ;-) 

But this one's exciting for a far bigger reason than that as you'll see in just a bit...

God bless,
Jenni
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A special announcement...


With the support and cooperation of John Dye's parents, a group of us fans (including some of you JABBers) are working together to create a web page entitled Pay It Forward in Memory of John Dye.  The site will be a resource for people hoping to give to charities that were meaningful to John and supported by his family as well as find ways they can reach out and help their own communities.  We also hope it'll give people a place to reflect on what John's generous spirit means to them.  We're all very excited and grateful for this opportunity to honor John.  I hope you'll join us in this exciting endeavor!  You can visit the web page here:
Pay It Forward in Memory of John Dye

and the Facebook group here:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/RIPJOHNDYE/
Because JABB has an overabundance of web space I doubt we will ever utilize, I donated some of our web space to the project but it shouldn't impact anything with onthisside.net.  I just think this is a great new dimension to add to our experiences as fans of John.

Thank you!
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I suppose all this with the new project has made me a lil contemplative so I started a list entitled...
Things I Wish I Could Tell My Younger Self
The purpose was just to think of things concerning John, his roles, JABB, and the like that we wish we could share with our younger selves.  Some lessons are funny, others bittersweet.  The following is what Cindy and I came up with.
From Jenni:

1. Don’t be afraid of Doc Hock. Go ahead and watch Tour of Duty and stop agonizing over it. You’ll be okay. True, it *will* increase your affection and admiration for John... but you’ll be glad for that one day.

2. So you’re thinking of starting a series of stories featuring Andrew gallivanting around a place called Dyeland with a group of friends vaguely reminiscent of your own? Fantastic! But do not... I repeat do NOT... name your character after yourself. I don’t care if your friend started it first. Have them change it! How about a nice name like Marianne or Bethany or (why not?) Persephone. Just not JenniAnn... Please leave me with my name!

3. After age 25, you will never be able to watch Mother, Mother without crying. And that’s okay.

4. There will be dark days. Your heart will break along with several others. But never, ever forget what John so beautifully said as Andrew: "I want you to know there's nothing... nothing to be afraid of. On one side, there's life. And on the other...there's life, too." And one day you’ll see him there.

5. They don’t make yellow Converses in children’s sizes. And your feet are not gonna grow any more. Start saving for a custom-made Todd-approved pair.

6. Some day you’re gonna find that mime make-up adorable.

7.  Don't get so bent out of shape when your friends tease you about John.  High school only last four years.  John lives forever.

8.  College is not as fun as it seems in Campus Man.  And there won't be a single guy on campus who is as attractive as Todd.  But you still need to go.  I mean it, missy.

9.  Remember that day when you were fourteen and your brother was teasing you about how you'd lose interest in John once he got less attractive and you shouted back "I don't care if he gets wrinkly, goes bald, and weighs 400 pounds... I'll still love him!"?  None of it ended up happening... but I'm still really glad you said it.

10.  When members start leaving, when your web site crashes, when it all just seems overwhelming... know this: someday it's gonna all make sense and you'll be really glad you stayed cause there will be new friends to make, new stories to write, and someone in Heaven who you all really need to do your best to make smile... and also blush... and laugh.  Cause he still looks really cute doing all of the above.

11.  Never forget what Taylor said: “What we do in love is never lost.”  (Thanks, M, for the reminder to my current self.)

And now a final one from Cindy:

1.  Try to find a way to let him know you love him and pray for him.

JABB 336 is dedicated to John's ability to reach such an amazingly wide audience.  He reached some of us as moody teenagers, others as wearied adults.  But however and whenever we found our way to his work, it touched us and he gave us hope.

JABB TOC

JABB 337

(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from "Touched by an Angel" (and its behind-the-scenes specials) and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions except for the second which is from Tour of Duty and owned by New World Television and Braun Entertainment Group.  The images are not being used to seek profit.)