Streams of Life

I found out first thing this morning that my friend Jay died. My mom told me that it was coming, so I wasn't that surprised. It is still sad though.

I first met Jay the summer before second grade. He was my first friend when we moved to Durant. We hung out together everyday. I would spend the night at his house a lot. He was an incredible basketball player, baseball player, and karate kid. It was unreal how athletic he was.

He was also very smart and he loved God. I'll never forget laying in the living room floor close to Christmas in fifth grade when Mrs. Glenda, Jay's mom came over. She was visibly upset and she grabbed mom and pulled her to her bedroom. A little while later, she came out and left. Mom told me later that evening that Jay had a massive brain tumor and he had to have surgery.

He had several strokes during surgery and his body was never able to fully recover. I didn't see him like I should have after that, but I did maintain some contact. I saw him last in October and he was as always glad to see me. He had to show me all of his collections and he, of course, forced me to take a pack of chewing gum (that was one of his trademarks. He always had gum.)

He was a good friend and I am grateful for the time that I was able to spend with him. I wrote a book about he and me that I plan to have published at some point. I'm leaving in the morning to drive to Durant for his funeral.