Scott Johnson

Hi Tink, Hard to get used to staying at home so much, but getting along so far. Extreme weather here in Kyoto
has been mainly heat and stronger typhoons in the last few years. Stay safe, man. Wear masks!

Larry,
Thank you for a great hang-glider photo in Switzerland. I second the motion to label it David. Ah, Sputnik! Somehow, David and I went to Redstone Arsenal for a public demonstration of a static firing of a Redstone rocket engine in daytime. (Downriver in Decatur, the endless night-time thunder of those engines peppered my dreams.) David punched me, eyes wide, and we did our best to outshout the rocket. No way. Of course, we were a safe distance away, but the full sound of the rocket firing remains the loudest sound I have ever heard. And learning later that four of those dudes would be lashed together to power a Saturn rocket, was awe-inspiring.
Yes, David retained a wicked sense of humor, but some of his recent photos on-line amazed me, and he wrote a superb essay about photography, which no longer seems to be available on-line. But he was learning and experimenting and finding new love not so long ago. Yes, let's remember him adventuring.
Scott

David went to Antioch in Ohio, with its work/study program.  I went to Indiana University & we exchanged a few letters our freshman year.  Then in 1961 or '62 he wrote me, "I've gone to Mars!  Coffee only five cents here." And it was true, sort of.  One of his work semesters was in Mars Hill, south of Indianapolis.  I drove up & we had several nickel cups of coffee.  Then we completely lost touch.  About 20 years ago, I did a Google search for "David Habercom," and came up with several references to a daredevil hang glider in Switzerland.  Then, years later, a similar search led to a gallery show in Atlanta of photo portraits of homeless people in Knoxville, Tennessee.  There was a link; I clicked, and it was him.  He told me that he was also the daredevil hang glider guy, but he stopped risking his neck when he re-invented himself as a photographer.  We exchanged emails again shortly after he moved to the Boston area, and there was a lot of stuff we wanted to catch up on.  This is a bummer.  He was a good friend.

Posted on: Apr 17, 2018 at 10:40 AM