Johnny's World: Special Edition: A Collection of Short Stories

By John Sangwin

This book is an extension of John Sangwin's first two books in the Johnny's World series. It is also a book for the family. Many have asked questions about characters and incidents in the series, so with this book he adds additional short stories that will hopefully provide answers. Enjoy the ride, as once again you become par

• Language: English
• Publisher: John W. Sangwin
• Release date: Jul 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638370277

John Sangwin

Educated at Lamar University, John Sangwin recently retired from serving for thirteen years as Minister of Music and from over thirty-two years at the Port Arthur Independent School District. He currently serves as Bible Study coordinator at Calvary Baptist Church, Port Arthur, Texas. John and wife have two children and six grandchildren. John believes telling stories is an important part of interacting with children and family. He hopes those who read about Johnny's World will be reminded of parts of their own childhoods, bringing back a smile or two.

Book preview

STORY 1

Meet the Real Johnny’s World

For just a moment, will the author of Johnny’s World please step forward and share some background concerning the origins of the world we know of as Johnny’s World? No, not the fictional writer, but the real-life author?

Ok, this writing approach might be considered unusual by most, but this is John W. Sangwin and, yes, I will share some explanation concerning the origins of the fictional series.

First -of -all, I am not the character Johnny Sampson. The name Johnny did indeed come from my childhood. My parents, especially my mother, referred to me by it prior to my second birthday. Our next-door neighbor, Mr. Taylor, called me by that name often. The character Tinsley Nathaniel Thomas has Mr. Taylor’s first name, Tinsley. So, you might say that I am sort of a blend of the two.

The fictional writer, Nate Thomas, is the grown-up version of Tinsley Nathaniel. Nate has the privilege of being able to look back and know what we call our fictional future. I can just imagine hearing music as I begin the opening monologue at the start or the epilogue at the conclusion of either Johnny’s World book.

I will admit that some of the characters’ names have emerged from somewhere in my past and not necessarily as I knew them. The title character, for instance, is Johnny Christopher Sampson. His first name is as previously explained, while his middle name comes from the fact that he is in many ways a Christ figure and, of course, there is his last name, Sampson, a strong figure in the Bible.

Johnny’s sister Ann is short for Annabel. Ann is my wife’s middle name and the name Annabel has been chosen a couple of times in our family history.

Bruce Lightfoot was named after a dear departed friend of mine whose friendship I will never forget. Bruce’s last name, Lightfoot, is a popular Indian name, meaning swift runner, although