The Man in Black

 He wore black everyday. A black shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He lived an extremely predictable life for anyone that was in his close circle. A circle that seemed small to the one's in it but come to find out was much larger than ever could have been imagined. He ate the same things for the most part daily. Bought the same groceries on the same days of each month more than likely, from the same stores, around the same time. He worked jobs that operated off strict routine and schedule. Jobs that many people may see as menial, however jobs that the man in black took very seriously. In fact it would seem as he took very literally the scripture, " Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." 

Speaking of scripture....the man in black was a Bible encyclopedia of sorts. As quiet as he seemed, one thing was for sure...you could not just tell him something and he take your word for it. Nope...he had to fact check everything...even the Word of God. He studied the Bible regularly...he studied the words coming out of the mouths of people regularly,  proving some to be ignorant imbeciles. And then there were the select few he found favor and respect for. 

The man in black may have had a dark attire but to know him was to know joy. I am not talking about rainbows and butterfly kind of crap. I am talking about joy...not an emotion but a contentment with living life. A contentment with what living life should really be about. You see, his heart was as tender as they come. He cared...not about himself but about others. He cared about the forgotten people. The one's dealt harder hands. He cared about the elderly and the lonely. 

He devoted his day to remembering people that many forgot....his widowed neighbor of 90 years old, making a point to tell her happy birthday. having it written on his living room door so he, unlike others would not forget, because to him, that was important. He remembered his widowed mother everyday going multiple times a day to see her and visit and help take care of things not easy for her to do, and then to proceed to have his routine phone  call every night  for 30 mins (or probably 29 mins or something like that  if you knew him) with her before she went to bed. 

The man in black found companionship in animals quiet often more than people. He cared for the strays and sick. He adored a dog that basically had animal leprosy, caring for it as if it was a full-bred competition dog, instead of the mangled mutt that it actually was. He cared for the "stray" cat at his mother's every day feeding it and spending much time sitting with it petting it and to be honest probably talking to it. 

The man in black was an artist of sorts. A music connoisseur doesn't even accurately describe it. Hundreds if not thousands of albums, cd's, and cassettes. He spent his nights in his home righting songs...music of his very own. Music that told stories and spoke about life. He also wrote jokes...note pads all around the house with homemade jokes scratched on them. And then there are the thousand (no exaggeration) of movies he owned. A plethora of sorts, every genre imagined. 

He appreciated the simple things. Action figures most people long discarded he kept...many in the original package. From super heroes to marvel characters, and you can not forget his obsession with star wars and snoopy. 

The man in black and i, shared a quality and that was the love language of gifts. You see it wasn't about the price of the gift, but rather the thought put into it. He remembered the things that many forget. The things that meant great sentiment to others. For example let me share one...

As a child i collected tea pots and a few years back in a difficult season of my life those tea pots became treasures to me. I wrote a story and proceeded to give away some of my tea pots to people who were very special in my life. The story indicating those tea-pots as Prayer tea-pots... a place to keep your prayers "steaming" until the Lord saw fit to answer. I ended up giving the man in black two of these special tea pots over the past couple of years that were unique for him. Shortly after giving him one he gave me something. You see the man in black lived a very simple life. His means were menial in the eyes of most, however for him he was just as comfortable as he wanted to be. With that being said, he handed me a little plastic toy tea set he had gotten from the Dollar store. He told me that he passed this when he was getting some stuff from the store and as silly as it was he wanted to give it to me...a whole tea set from him bc of how much my gift meant. It probably cost $5 maybe but that gift touched my heart and i have kept it to this day. 

The Man in Black was a man of few words but if he had words to say there was no question that they came from his heart. I will forever remember the day of my Papa's funeral. In the dining room of one of my uncles homes. He saw me...upset with tears streaming down my face and he looked at me with the most serious face and said "hey come here..." and with tears in his eyes he put his arm on my shoulder and he preceded to tell me something that i will NEVER forget...something that in that moment i connected to him in a way like never before. I felt his heart. 

You see, my papa was his dad. This "man in black" is my Uncle. My uncle and i, to be so different shared so much. One was the admiration and closeness to my Papa. A special love. Another was our love to write...for him music and jokes and for me blogs and journals. We shared a love for Wars in history, the bible, and interest in other denominations and religions. We shared the ability to see through some of life's most spit out people and acknowledge them for more than what they felt there worth was. We shared a love for  a once, stray cat at my grandparents, although we never agreed on the name...i called HER Luda and he called HIM Roscoe...

A little over a month ago, the man in black, also known as my Uncle Jimmy, or James as he preferred to be called by others, tragically and unexpectedly passed away. A blow to his family that still doesn't make sense. A little over a month ago we watched as people came out of the woodworks who shared our grief and had been touched by his life. For such a quiet and to-himself man, he had touched a LOT of lives. He did not have children or a wife but he has a family that misses him daily and dearly. He has co-workers who's days are no longer the same. He has animals that are no longer being cared for as he did.  He has siblings that live daily with a missing piece of themselves they shared with him, and friends devastated by his unexpected exit of this world

I have taken time to reflect and i truly do reflect daily. I miss him. No, i did not see him daily or even talk to him daily but i had a special relationship with my uncle. One many did not know about or realize. And i admired him. I admired his brutal honestly (and his lavish fictional stories hed like to tell)...i admired his knowledge and desire to learn. I admired his sentiment for things that many people did not care about. that a silly note or gift meant enough to him to display so he could see it daily. I admire his work ethic like none other. One i don't even come close to displaying myself but strive to one day. I admire his simplicity and lack of care what people thought of it. I admire his view of money. That to have a lot didn't mean happiness but to have little didn't mean you couldn't share it and give it to others. I admire his love for the less than and his disdain for the prideful and self righteous. I admire his love and respect for family...daily being there for his mother and father when he was alive and investing in relationships with his siblings. I admire his physical discipline...he worked out every day of his life making it a priority to take care of his body. To be honest, i could go on and on but i won't...

You are probably wondering why i titled this "the Man in Black"...well that was my uncle. He wore black just about everyday...and though logically you'd say he did it because he delivered papers and worked with ink all day so it would not show (which don't get me wrong i think that was part of it) but if you knew my uncle, you knew he had the greatest love and respect for Johnny Cash...the man in black. And if you listen to Johnny Cash you have heard his song "Man in Black"...and you can't listen to that and not think of my uncle. That was the man he was. I'll let the lyrics explain....Jimmy...I am so thankful that one day i will see you again. I am thankful that your worries are no more and that you are experiencing true joy with your Savior. You impacted many and the honor of who you were lives on. I love you...you knew that...and for that i am so thankful. Pat Papa's hair for me...and thank you for the man you were and the memory you left behind...

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black

Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Living in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime
But is there because he's a victim of the time

I wear the black for those who've never read
Or listened to the words that Jesus said
About the road to happiness through love and charity
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me

Well, we're doing mighty fine, I do suppose
In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front there ought to be a man in black

I wear it for the sick and lonely old
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold
I wear the black in mourning for the lives that could have been
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men

And I wear it for the thousands who have died
Believing that the Lord was on their side
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died
Believing that we all were on their side

Well, there's things that never will be right I know
And things need changing everywhere you go
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right
You'll never see me wear a suit of white

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day
And tell the world that everything's okay
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back
'Til things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black....

-Johnny Cash