Jill's cousin sent her a picture of this sweatshirt today. This is a sweatshirt that I designed when I was in high school for the basketball team. Jill has one just like this and my girls have it in their closet and wear it pretty regularly. It pops up in conversations with family from time to time when we talk to family, but today it struck a chord with me as I told my kids and Jill where the design came from. It was one of a few designs that I did when I was in high school and it was just one of those things that I naturally gravitated to at the time that involved drawing.
A little backstory:
One of my best friends from school was a guy named László. He was a good friend with my best friend Jake who I had been in every school single classroom with (except 1st grade). László's Dad was our family doctor so we had a close relationship with his family especially after my sledding accident. Dr. Varjú had made it to the operating room when Dr. Webb (the Dr. that delivered me) removed my spleen and kidney. Needless to say, László, Jake and I were pretty close in school. László was a good basketball player and as I remember, he asked me to design a drawing for the basketball team. By being friends, László had considerable influence on what the design might entail and he was a big metal head. He followed a lot of Heavy Metal bands in the day and we frequently watched Headbangers Ball on MTV when I stayed over at Jake's house. Discussing music was a big part of our time together. I think his traveling back to Hungary from time to time and going to concerts had an influence on what I thought he might be into for a design. I don't remember if he directly told me use the Iron Maiden cover from above as inspiration or not, but my interest in comic books and album cover art probably played a major influence. My brother and I frequently copied drawings from the comic books we would get from Orin (the custodian at World Color and Petty Printing Co.). I remember drawing this on paper and giving it to László who I think must have shown Coach Scott. Before I know it, the design is being printed on sweatshirts for the team and pretty soon people could buy them through the school. I really never thought much about it after the drawing was done. I just made it for fun and thought László would get a kick out of it. Now looking back, a ton of people at the school had one including parents. You'd show up to a basketball game and they were everywhere. Again, I didn't really think about it much at the time.
Well today I reflected on this and had to tell my family where the idea originated from. It turns out this cover art was from a single release of a song, and I know I didn't own any Iron Maiden albums or artwork, so all I can think is László must have had it and shown me. Honestly, I just can't remember. They just were not a band that I listened to, but I did enjoy some of their cover art. László or Jake may remember more of the details than I do, so for know until I can gain more insight, this will have to do.
Now for even more backstory... on Dr. Varjú
Dr. László Varjú was born on July 28, 1938 in Igal, Hungary. On April 4, 1955, he took part in an campaign to disseminate flyers against the communist regime on the eve of the celebration of Hungary's 'liberation' by Soviet forces in 1945. After brutal interrogation, he was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison and was not allowed to complete his third year of high school. He was released in June of 1956 and was allowed to re-enter high school in the town of Csurgó in the Fall. When the Revolution began in October of 1956, Varjú immediately became the president of the revolutionary student association, becoming the youngest member of the town's revolutionary committee. Although he did not see active fighting during the revolution, he took part in making Molotov cocktails to use against the Soviet tanks and stood firmly on the side of the revolutionaries. After the Revolution was crushed on November 4th, he didn't give up hope and stayed until February of 1957. At that point, the only way out was through Yugoslavia (of the 200,000 refugees, only 16,000 escaped across the Southern border).
In his compelling and heartfelt interview, Varjú talks about mistreatment by the Yugoslav authorities during his five months in a refugee camp there. He eventually emigrated to the U.S., arriving in late 1957. In the U.S. he immediately joined the Hungarian community in New Jersey, including active involvement in the Hungarian-American Rifle Association, a paramilitary organization training for possible involvement in Hungary's liberation from Soviet rule. He was an active member of this group until going back to Austria in 1968 to begin medical school. After receiving his medical degree, he joined the U.S. military and achieved the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the U.S. Air Force.
Varjú was always very active in the Hungarian community, and in 2001 moved back to Hungary with his wife, working as a dermatologist and becoming the mayor of his birth town, Igal.
In his compelling and heartfelt interview, Varjú talks about mistreatment by the Yugoslav authorities during his five months in a refugee camp there. He eventually emigrated to the U.S., arriving in late 1957. In the U.S. he immediately joined the Hungarian community in New Jersey, including active involvement in the Hungarian-American Rifle Association, a paramilitary organization training for possible involvement in Hungary's liberation from Soviet rule. He was an active member of this group until going back to Austria in 1968 to begin medical school. After receiving his medical degree, he joined the U.S. military and achieved the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the U.S. Air Force.
Varjú was always very active in the Hungarian community, and in 2001 moved back to Hungary with his wife, working as a dermatologist and becoming the mayor of his birth town, Igal.
from: https://memoryproject.online/dr-laszlo-varju/
and this video from of my friend László
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