Getting to Know You

Through this whole process with Jim dieing, I have been able to get to know him a bit.  There are different bits and pieces that after 33 years I am able to collect. 

One of them is the food items he had in his apartment.  Sounds kind of weird, I know, but remember this is my "dad" who I didn't know.  It is kind of interesting to me!  :) 
Sharp cheddar cheese,
milk,
eggs,
coke,
rock star,
bread,
Mac and Cheese in the freezer,
cereal,
cans of soup,
baked beans,
and ice cream.

Papers.  Another way of getting to know someone.  What kind of papers do you have filed away?  In your desk?  Or shoved in your closet?  He didn't have a ton of papers.  He had a couple of cards and letters from my Sis, and then one from me.  He had the basic bills and money order receipts for rent, car insurance, the phone bill and that is about it.

Clothing.  Jim had about 6 pairs of Levi's 501 button fly jeans.  A couple pairs of shorts, a couple pairs of shoes, navy blue/black socks, navy blue/black or white plain t-shirts, a couple of hats and sweatshirts.  He had 3 pairs of really nice leather shoes, Dr. Martens, and pair of boots like Dr. Martens but a different brand and a cow-boyish pair of boots.  Lovely lovely items, that I don't think he wore.  Some ties, one still with a tag from Goodwill on it.  He didn't have a dresser.  Just a bunch of hangers and a little plastic storage case for his clothing.

He liked old things.  He had some old guitar music books, old books, even a couple of old cute framed cow-boyish pictures, and his huge passion was bikes.  He loved Schwinn bikes.  From what I have heard, almost everyone at his work KTVL channel 10, had gotten one from him.  He loved to build these old cruisers up and give them to his co-workers friends.  I have ridden two of the ones he had in his apartment since he passed and they are so neat!  Really really neat.  Big, smooth, cruisers.  :)  Very different from my bike with pulling Gabe and Finn behind me.    

There is more, but this tired brain of mine is having a hard time thinking.  So, I will leave it at that for now.  It is really pretty neat being able to get to know him without the issues.  Just Jim.  Who "Jimmy" was to his friends at the station, and who he was to the stores (pawn shops, bike shops) he would frequent.  A past co-worker from 18 yrs ago came down from northern Oregon to come to his "remembering Jim Parra" service.  Pretty neat to hear about the impact he made in these peoples lives.  I just wish he would have been able to see what he had, and see how loved he was.  I wish he would have been able to let people in.