I called him a few years before he pasted away. By way of introduction I said that we had some things in common. First of all I majored in Journalism at the University of Arizona where he once taught Journalism. Secondly I had hunted many of the areas in Southern Arizona where he had. Finally I mentioned that I had read nine of his books. His first comment after all that was "That shows you're not very bright". In my many years of hunting I have found nothing he wrote about rifles, calibers, hunting methods to be outdated or erroneous. I wish he were still writing for us!
About a year before Jack died, I was working second shift in a factory. I was friends with one of the inspectors, and he was as big a fan of JOC as I was. One night he told me that he had gotten Jack's phone number and was going to call him, and wanted to know if I'd like to speak to him as well. I laughed and said that JOC would never talk to two no-names like us. He called him anyway, and talked to him for about 20 minutes. My friends father was college professor and baseball coach at the local college, and he said that when he mentioned that to Jack, that O'Connor immediately begin to show interest in the conversation and even told my friend to call again. Sandy said that it was very obvious that JOC was a very educated and worldly man. I always regretted not getting in on that conversation.
