I have had the honor of knowing him since I was eleven years old. He's smart, caring, and he loves my mom and my family a lot. He makes me laugh and he loves to invent stuff. A car, a tent, a golf club. Even though he's retired he keeps on thinking. I can't imagine he will ever stop.
To my mind, though, his most successful invention sits in the living room of the house I grew up in. It's a couch. It's an amazing, one-of-a-kind couch. The birthday boy designed it and had it built. It's heavy yet versatile, able to adjust to three different positions. He even used my mom's leg measurements to make it fit exactly.
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| Jim's name "written" on his couch |
A curious thing about this couch is that kids love it. They are drawn to it, climbing all over it, jumping off it, writing words in the carpet pile. They just can't stay away. Adults? Adults just sit on the couch, not noticing its unique beauty and accessibility.
In that way, the couch reminds me to try to keep that sense of wonder that children have, and also to remember that you can accomplish incredible things if you put your mind to it. Thanks for the gift of those lessons, Jimmie. I hope over the years the gifts I have given you are half as remarkable.
I hope you have a great birthday today. Enjoy yourself!
PS Your actual card will arrive late. Sorry about that. Consider this post a substitute until the card gets there.
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