My brother, I have tried to share my thoughts and feelings on this tribute wall a few times now, but I wasn't able to get past the first sentence. This is my third attempt and this time I wrote it down on paper first. I cannot and will not be able to share everything I want to say, but that is the way of these things, lingering thoughts and feelings left unsaid, but remembered.
The basics are that I miss you very much and I am struggling with the reality that you're gone from this earth. I know you're not gone from me or your loved ones in spirit, but you're gone from a phone call or a text or a cigar on a porch or a patio. And this really sucks my brother. And so unexpected Jimmy, your passing, and this makes it so much more difficult to accept.
Anyway, of all the things I want to say, I realize there are things that need not be said because we knew each other so well.
But these are some things I want to say: I am honored to call you my friend and brother; I am proud of you and your grit. Always seeking to do better, always believing in better, even through disappointments and disillusionment. You never quit, you never gave up. And more, your care and concern for others, especially animals and plants, one of the things that bonded us so closely.
So, I will share a story for those that read this tribute to you my brother:
Marathon, Florida, July 2019, a very hot day. Jimmy and I were driving down the road to get some more bait for fishing, one of his favorite activities, and he see's a young woman walking her dog down the road. The dog was a German Sheppard and he was panting and limping gingerly. Jimmy erupts with indignation. He orders me to make a u-turn, which I do, but I am asking him while I'm doing it to calm down, but he was heated, like it was his duty to respond. I was concerned because I was afraid he would jump out of the car and berate the woman, cause a scene and who knows what.
But that is not what happened. as soon as we got close, Jimmy visibly calmed down, likely because he knew he could now help. I stopped the car and he jumped out and he was so cool, calm and collected. He said to her, "Hey, it looks like your dog is suffering from the heat, his paws must be burning, let me help you."  Without waiting for her acceptance, or any worry that this big dog would attack him, he immediately picked the dog up and put him in the backseat of our car. He grabbed a bottle of water and hand fed the dog the entire bottle, then he took a rag, poured water over it and started soothing the dogs paws. The entire time, he is sweet and assuring and explaining to the lady that the asphalt gets so hot that you can't walk your dog on it. As he was tending her dog, he gently asks her to touch the ground. She does and is immediately mortified and starts crying and hugs her dog,
I never saw anything like it. He was so irate as I made the u-turn, and then so calm and reassuring, almost educational, once he was on scene. We ended up driving her and her dog about a half mile to her car, where she assured Jimmy she would never make that mistake again and thanked him repeatedly. And he was gracious and sweet and the dog gave him a bunch of kisses and we left.
That is Jimmy, and that honestly is all you really need to know about him. Perhaps he was the avatar of Saint Assisi, the patron saint of animals, perhaps not, but I say yes he was, at least to me.
I am sorry we did not get to go on that cruise Jimmy. This will sting for a while, but I'm sure we will go on a cruise when I see you again. I am so grateful for the times we were together and the memories I have with you. Thank you for being a good friend and brother. I love you and I miss you and I look forward to fishing with you again. John