Between earning my PPL and starting my IR, I did an 8 lesson intro to aerobatics with John in his Citabria. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and he was a very skilled and competent CFI. Like P7, his military gruffness didn't bother me a bit as I too spent some time vacationing with my Uncle.
My first lessons stands out, as I thought the flight would be a scrub. We had a 70 degree crosswind in the high teens gusting into the 20's, but he said we go. And off we went, that first lesson was nothing special, just feeling out the plane a little bit, steep turns, stalls, falling leafs, etc. He had me fly that thing to short final, and me being nervous as hell (1st time in a tail dragger and unfamiliar with the plane), I was all over the place. He took over on short final and set that plane down soft as a feather in pretty trying conditions. After that, I knew I had nothing to worry about flying with him. The rest of the lessons were a blast.