John Abraham - see ya!

I received the sad word that John Abraham had passed away a few minutes ago.

Don Perry called me from Minnesota, not sure how he found out. 

He said that they found John dead in his bed.

John was an antique merchant and a swapmeet dealer. 

He used to be at the Hillsborough Show, sold with Don in fact, but could be found at a variety of swap meets across Southern California the past forty years or so.

I met him very early on at the flea markets. Later we did the Pickwick Show in Burbank together when it was great.

He was a very funny guy with a great laugh and sense of humor. 

His merchandise was also always top notch for his particular milieu, he could uncover gems like nobody else, seemed to have an endless supply of treasures. 

Woke up every Saturday in the middle of the night and worked his ass off.

You could not find a nicer person in this world. He always treated everybody fairly. He gave people good deals. He wanted you to be happy. I think I can safely say the man had no enemies.

I don't know or remember a whole lot about John's past. I think he was a native angeleno. I know he was a childhood actor in the 1950's. Maybe an animal show... or Circus Boy, something like that. He told me once.

The flea market world will not be the same without him. We will all miss his warmth, compassion and impish smile. We have lost a legend and a mensch.

always a ham...