Sunday, May 27, 2012
Shirley-Vic-Lewis-I am so sorry to hear of Jimmy Doug's passing. He was a good man, and one that I liked. I wrote this for him. I hope you will forgive any minor discrepancies.
Dan
He was an artist. Not in a conventional way, but an artist. He made canes, and gave them names. The mad hatter, the old man, and several more that I can't remember. He laid rock, and brick, and tile most of his life. He always had an artistic twist to his work. Built a stone wall for me, with an attached fire pit. Used skinny rocks to simulate flame on the fire pit, and carved my street address on the wall, by hand. He was a talker, and an all around good guy, full of generosity, and a curiosity about things that I never thought of. Drove an old 67 Chevy truck. Orange. Had replaced every part in it at least twice. He was my friend. He fell on poor health the last several years, and I saw him less and less. When I did, he was always the same, spirit wise. Always some new project, some new idea.
He died yesterday at 59. I guess bad luck and hard living caught up with him.
Sure seems like everybody that makes life interesting is dropping like flies.
I expect he is telling them some stories tonight, maybe building a wall beside those pearly gates. If he is, I expect he will give it an artistic twist that St, Peter never sees coming.
Goodbye, Jimmy Doug. You were my friend, and I'm going to miss the hell out of you. The world is a more boring place for your passing.
