Quote:
Originally Posted by barrysloate
So it's the morning after we got this terrible news and I can't get Jim's passing out of mind. He was only a casual friend, and we never met in person. But I had so much respect for him. He chose to devote his life to the study of Buddhism, and this garnered my strongest admiration. What a wonderful calling indeed.
And what an amazing collection he had. A complete N167 set- how did he do it? A T206 Wagner, a Ty Cobb back, a virtually mint E93 set? And it went on and on and on. We sometimes teased Jim about it: did the Dalai Lama collect baseball cards? Aren't Buddhists supposed to relinquish all their worldly possessions? But he was a good sport and surely recognized the humor in it.
I know very little about Buddhism, but I do know that part of its teaching is to prepare oneself for death, to recognize its inevitability and to see it as the final step of life's very long journey. I'm certain he reached this ultimate state as he took his last breath.
I truly believe he is in a better place. I only regret that I didn't get to know him a little better.
|
A few times a year Jim would come into town to visit his parents, and he, Jason Miller and I would usually get together for cigars at a friends lounge and end up spending 4-6 hours just sitting and talking. It's something I always looked forward to, and I've been thinking about those times over the last day absolutely devastated by the recent turn of events.
Jim was probably the most centered person I've ever met, and I have no doubt he is at peace. When I spoke to his wife Tiffany Tuesday nite they both seemed very calm, and it was obvious that Jim remained centered and dignified to the very end.
I once asked Jim how he reconciled Buddhism with the materialism of collecting cards and he just laughed and said Buddha wants us to be happy, and cards made him happy. That was evident as the completion of his N167 set unfolded over the last 2 years. The research, location, and acquisition of the last 2-3 cards in this set was an incredible story and achievement, and each time we got together Jim would wait til just the right moment to catch me up on the latest chapter.
Speaking to Jim a few months ago it was clear that he viewed the journey as the reward, and he was already planning the next one. He always said paradise is just like the place you are now, only much much better. I'm sure he's there, with that ever present smile on his face.