Tom and I exercised together in a Jazzercise class in Arlington, Texas from sometime after April 1, 1992 up through August, 1994 when classes of the particular instructor were discontinued.

Both of us were enthusiastic participants, but Tom had a white panel van repainted with messages about Jazzercise painted on the side panels.  We were the only two men in the class, unless another local man came to class..  We went to a regional Jazzercise event in Plano, participated as exercise students in a December, 1994 videotaping session for instructors at the company headquarters in Carlsbad, California, and went to the 1995 Jazzerjam event in San Diego, California.

Tom liked to waterski, and had a speedboat at a marina on Grapevine Lake.  I went to Lake Grapevine with Tom and his mother, who drove the boat.  I don't remember the month of the year, but Tom put on a  diver's wet suit to help him keep warm.  I remember thinking something like "Man, that is REAL DEDICATION to a sport, to exercise like this in cold water."

I think that we both liked Jazzercise because we could exercise and maintain good weight, but not have to compete with other players.  We also joked about being surrounded by a roomful of women, and that maybe someday one or more would ask us out on a date, or at least ask for our telephone numbers.  Never happened, but we got ourselves into better shape and metabolic balances.

Tom was a Navy aviation electronics techician.  He was stationed at the Da Nang, Vietnam base during the war.  You would think that a base like that would be a safe place to be stationed, but the perimeter fence areas were dusted or sprayed with Agent Orange to kill vegetation.  Tom was affected by the compound, he told me, and he also developed another medical condition during his enlistment. 

After the classes closed at the particular location in Arlington, we would keep in contact at random times, and I would go visit Tom and his mother at the family home in Irving. 

I met my now deceased wife Beverly in the spring of 2007, and told her about my friend "Tom Taylor of Irving".  To my surprise, I found that she and Tom worked for different companies in the same office building in Arlington.  They were casual acquaintances who met now and then in the lobby or the elevator.

I had not been in contact with Tom during the past two years, which I greatly regret.  I tried to telephone him, today, December 8, 2016 to try and renew our friendship.  A local Jazzercise instructor was the person who told me that Tom had passed away this year, but had no other details.  Searching the internet  led me here. 

I regret that Tom and I did not meet before he passed away.  He is now free from illnesses that affected him for many years.  I salute Tom as a veteran, and as a special friend.  Tom Lindsey