Wednesday, June 25, 2014

...to say the least

The rigors of driving and everything else to do with Dad's funeral has drained me. I am certainly not thinking clearly at this juncture but I did rest well last night.
On top of it all the news of Jack's death hit me pretty hard. I did not expect to get that sort of news, especially when I did. We were having dinner at a restaurant with our pastor and his family after church when I happened to check my phone. I almost never use my phone on Sundays. I either leave it at home or I turn it off completely but this time I had it with me and for some odd reason, pulled it out to look at it as we finished eating.
I had received a message from one of my associates saying he had bad news. My only contact with him was through Jack so I instantly knew Jack was dead. He confirmed my thoughts, describing the accident  in detail and I think I went into shock. I don't recall driving home that night but I must have. I was alone in my car and Di had driven hers to church that night, so that meant that I had to have driven home.
Jack was crossing the street after going to Braum's for 'supplies' and was the victim of a horrible hit and run accident. The impact didn't kill him right away but he didn't make it to the hospital alive.

Once we arrived at home we watched the news coverage and I instantly recognized the ball cap Jack used to wear all the time. It was lying there in the street next to a half melted box of his favorite flavor of ice cream. I still see that picture over and over in my mind and I hurt for him, knowing the pain he must have gone through in those last few minutes of his life.

I worked with Jack when he first started Jack's Answer. I even got to name the product and design the label on the bottles. I was very proud of what we did together and certainly learned a great deal about business from my friend. He had more or less become a father figure to me in many ways even though we definitely had our differences at times. He was very strong willed and that didn't leave much room for other people's opinions. I overlooked that for the most part but I did get pretty mad at him from time to time. I will greatly miss my friend and mentor, to say the least.

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