Blog 2601 – 12.12.2022

A Tribute To Justin

When our son Jonathan was a boy a young boy his age appeared at our door one afternoon saying that he knew Jonathan from school and that Jonathan had invited him to come by. We welcomed him into our home and our hearts with open arms. Several hours later after he left Jonathan said he never invited Justin to come over that Justin had just invited himself.

Thus began our relationship with Justin Simon. He alway called Linda and I, Mr. White and Mrs. White respectively. He reminded me of Eddie Haskell from the nineteen-fifties Leave It To Beaver TV show. His manners always seemed to mask something devious just below the surface. We had a sneaky suspicion that Justin was not the best influence on Jonathan. They seemed to bring out the worst in one another, but had a lot of fun together.

Jonathan after high school went to the University of Houston. Justin went to the U.S. Army. As I had gone the same route after high school and knew how much getting a letter from home meant I wrote Justin a letter every day during his Basic Training. He had invited himself into our lives and has been along with Matt and the two John’s among Jonathan’s closest friends more like brothers.

Jonathan texted me yesterday that he spoke with Justin’s mom and that she told him Justin had been shot in the chest and was in the hospital ICU awaiting surgery on a collapsed lung. As we await good news, we hope, of his speedy recovery, we are holding a vision of Justin in good health and smiling that slightly conspiratorial but oh so winning smile of his.

We love you, Mister Simon.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JuyuG2p8Gf40-mQoJsuNlKgxJxF0XOaA/view?usp=drivesdk

He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother