John Cox:
CLASS OF 1976
Andover High SchoolClass of 1976
Linthicum, MD
John's Story
Hello everyone, my 2nd go at this. I do not know where my last profile went. I have been very blessed many times over, and am SO thankful!! I never graduated. At the time I was playing music five nights a week, and $500 was pretty good for 1976. I was kind of quiet and had a small circle of school friends. Most of my friends were older [mid 20's] musicians I knew from hanging with my older, guitar player brother and his friends that played all the clubs in the Baltimore/Washington area. I have played drums since forever. I also play guitar and bass too. I has a disastrous marriage when I was 19 and have been single ever since. Running with musicians and bikers is not a docile way of life. I had two Harleys there for a while. Now I just got the one, a Wide Gide Dyna. And I have to admit that I had some pretty memorable experiences. Both extremely good and bad. I realize now that precarious adventures and life lessons go together. I now have lived in Texas since 2/12/1991[more about that in a minute]. It was the best move I ever made. As of 10/22/2025 I have now lived in Texas longer than I did in Maryland. I moved from Maryland to get away from drugs and all that, only to come to Texas and get into drugs and all that. Jeez! I quit drugs cold turkey on 1/1/2006. I also stopped drinking just by chance right before my birthday in 2024. I got tired of beer making me look like I swallowed a Volkswagen and having nuclear hangovers. I just lost interest in all of it. It just was not fun anymore. I did not think about or dwell on it, it just happened in the blink ot an eye. I am still astounded with how I have been blessed in so many ways. I got a little old vacant house on two acres that once had 11 [yes ELEVEN] drug addicts living there tearing it up. I knew when the Junior Samples looking dumb ass that owned the property pulled into the yard that I had found my home. As I type this today, my home looks just as I pictured in in 1992. The pool, the separate music studio, all of it. Again, I look back at the trials and tribulations, and it made me realize how blessed I was. You learn to value and appreciate hard work, faith, and determination. I've learned to NEVER give up! Today I am retired from 50 years in the paint and body industry. I got my Masters degree in 1998. I have painted parts for the space shuttles, radar reflective paint for the B-1 bombers and other aircraft, countless pieces of heavy equipment, and a variety of cars, motorcycles, and most everything else [lawn furniture, oil well parts, etc.]. I LOVE trains. I even moved to Texas on a train [in my own room of course!]. That included ...Expand for more
the extra perk of 18 hrs in New Orleans to change trains at the same time the Mardi Gras was going on. I live by the tracks too. That was definitely a bonus when I first saw the place. Even when I was in Maryland we had some cool places to party by the tracks. I love going to concerts and I reckon because of my musical background, I have been fortunate to meet a lot of those folks. I love to travel. I come from a family of truck drivers and use to go on the road a lot. I DO miss Maryland and the distinct change of seasons. Here in Magnolia it is 48 weeks of 800 degree days, and four weeks of "winter". Winter to most these people is any day below 50 degrees. I use to love those spur-of-the-moment trips to Ocean City. I know a lot of people no longer care for it. Down here we have Galveston and the 'beach' is along a seawall and about ten yards wide. The water is brown, and the sand is gray. Watch out for the syringes, old take-out boxes, discarded diapers and such. I liked going to Harpers Ferry and all those backroad places around Maryland. And hooking school and siphoning gas from the school bus depot for my friends Volkswagen afforded us plenty of opportunities for that. I never did like Fall and, oddly enough, I never appreciated the beauty of the trees, the Fall crops and fresh apple cider, or the brisk weather until I moved to Texas. I think it is cool to see you folks on here and the different paths and stories you all have. The main thing is that it is good to see y'all healthy and happy. There are some folks I wish I would see on here. And it aches my heart for those that have passed. My folks passed in 1984 and 87, and my brother James [Jimbo] in 2009, oddly enough on my parents anniversary [12/19]. I love being retired. That's another thing i thought would never do. I live relatively debt free except for recurring bills and new best friend Amazon. I had some medical misfortunes that led to me retiring. I almost lost my right arm from a fall at work. Then I almost lost ME from blood clots to my heart and lungs. I had the head doctor that over-sees the entire Houston medical complex come to my room to tell me that NO ONE survives that, and I was a "one in-a-million" case. Still being able to play drums [and everything else] was my main concern. And through raw determination and diligence I recovered very well. SO, that is 70 years of Homey [my surname] in 3500 characters. I am a lousy typist and never though it would come out this way. If you made it this far, "Thank you". I am starting over and trying to repost my original pics. Be healthy, be happy, and be kind to each other, John
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