The death of a friend, and a brother is hard to take, later on comprehend. It wakes one up to the realization that it is an inevitable end to us mere mortals.
Last week, today, Jim breathed his last. I am the luckier to have visited with him a few weeks prior. We reminisced, talked about old friends and good memories we shared. He even offered me a beer. I declined,and now regret it.
See, memories are there to remind us of things that have gone before.
Jim was a gentle soul, even on the shy side, hidden behind a strong personality, with deep held convictions and firm belief in family, and country.
My mind tells me that he is in a better place where there is no pain. I understand that, I just wish I could explain it to my heart.
I grieve, but I know my tears are for me.
In the words of a poet, Tom Sims, I reflect;
“Death spoke to my friend…
Hope beckoned and he responded
Now the only silence
Is the emptiness
Where he is not.”
In his life, Jim touched so many. In his death many lives have been changed. Forever.
Death strikes fear in all our hearts. It is unfathomable as it is inevitable.
The thought of never seeing Jim again is painful, only tempered by the special years we have shared since 1973. We shared good, and hard times, laughter and adventure. Jim always had your back. He not only loved his friends, he treasured them. His Family was his foundation.
Over the years, I got a chance to see Jim up close and personal. The evening his mother passed, we gathered at his home, along with Ruth and kids. Mahalia Jackson’s music played in the background. Nina Simone sung “Mummy”, and Jim hid his pain in the beautiful sounds of these giants. He wore his humanity and sensitivity close to his chest.
Understanding death really means understanding life. Jim’s soul will live on as it always has, now unfettered by the physical constraints of its body.
Jim’s goodness, virtue, and selflessness — lies in the soul, it is logical to assume, therefore that he will ascend to a higher state after fulfilling his responsibilities on Earth.
Farewell, my friend, my brother Jim. We will miss you very much, but as a dear friend you live further in our hearts as a fountain of friendship, though my goodbye is in vain: brothers can’t be parted. Precious memories never die.
In life we loved you dearly. In death we love you still.
Since destiny has carried you off before your time, it falls to me to perform the old, sad rite.
Receive it and with it, my tears of love and grief. And so forever, my friend, hail and farewell
