Monday, January 26, 2009
I met Jesse when we were in beginergarden at Eastside elementary in 1985. I remember one rainy day where we were coloring in class. I turned to Jesse and told him he was coloring outside the lines! He thanked me and then told me that my coloring was messy! That was a beginning of a friendship where we always had to point out the bad in each other, but the result was it made us better people. We always talked about that story for years, Jesse and I played baseball together, he was on my team, The A's, who was coached by Mark Shields. Everything Mark said about Jesse was true. My father coached Jesse as well, and he always had the same demeanor. All I can say is that I was there for Jesse for the tough times in his life, as he was for mine. We lost touch for awhile and he called me on Election day. It was like we never missed a beat, he seemed so proud of his family. We were going to get together at some point. That never happened, and it tears me apart. Jesse, I will miss you, and god bless you. My prayers also go out to Annette and kids, Linda, and Michael, who was a great step-father to Jesse. Rest in peace Jesse, and I will tell my son who taught his dad how to color.
