Silly things about Jim

The last post started me thinking about all of Jim's little idiosyncrasies and quirks.

I was thinking that these are the types of things that shouldn't get lost as years go by. For Jim, the list includes:

- Gum chomping, obviously
- Jim could touch the tip of his nose to his forehead. He showed me on our first date.
- He told people he lost the cartilage in his nose during a football accident. In reality, he's been that way since birth - usually he'd fess up right after telling the fib :)
- Jim could laugh and talk just like Scooby-Doo. I always maintained that if he were a cartoon character, he'd be Scooby
- He could spread his stumpy little toes out w-i-d-e...almost like you can spread your fingers...like a tree frog
- He had a host of magic tricks, but most prominently with cards. He had great card tricks. He used to do magic shows for his family as a kid
- He could play euchre. He tried to teach me once but of course, I cried. That was the end of that. But he did manage to teach me to play a little poker
- Jim could make a serious omelet. Light, fluffy and delicious
- Jim loved mayonnaise. If he could have, he would have eaten it out of the jar
- Jim did not approve of spaghetti sauce with the meat mixed in
- He did NOT approve of any clothing that showed more skin than necessary (on anyone, not just me!). If it was up to him, I would dress like Barbara Bush
- He was involved in everything at our house - from registering for china to picking bath towels and chandeliers. His taste ran toward the ornate, which I find humorous, since he was also a flannel guy. He was all about intricately carved furniture and Victorian houses - he liked the detail work
- He was good at backgammon
- Jim hated sand. We went on a trip to the Outerbanks with some friends one year - Jim, Rachel and I spent the entire week in the pool. He refused to go to the beach
- He thought snapdragons were the best flowers
- He was terrified of snakes, and even reptiles in general. He could handle about 3 minutes of the reptile house at the zoo, and then he had to leave
- He used to shave in the shower so that he didn't get red bumps on his neck. He used Colgate shaving cream. But he'd only use Crest toothpaste
- He didn't like the feel of lotion on his hands, and if I asked him to put suntan lotion on my back he'd act like I was covered in some kind of rash
- You couldn't even LOOK at Jim's milk without him getting totally grossed out. He would share Chapstick, soda, beer...whatever. BUT NOT MILK.
- Jim slept on a pillow that I would consider rock hard
- He literally used to get tan walking from his car into the office. He didn't like the Atlanta summer heat
- Jim loved chick flicks. And war movies, of course
- Jim's ring finger on his left hand was missing a tiny bit of the tip. He accidentally blasted it off with his router when we lived in Atlanta
- He loved jackets and watches. He had a ton of jackets and an entire collection of watches from girlfriends and family
- In our entire time together I only saw Jim get mad - really mad - around 3 or 4 times. I distinctly remember 3...
- His first mentor at Stone Container was Durwood Bent. The first thing Durwood taught Jim was to document absolutely everything - and he carried that on through his career
- Judi's tuna mac salad was his favorite food (besides pizza) - he would literally make a batch and eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner
- He loved, loved, loved Christmas music
- Jim was never wrong in assessing someone's character

I guess that's enough of a list for tonight. I just miss him today. It was a good day, though. When I think about all of Jim's little quirks and things that made him distinctly JIM, I feel happy. In my lifetime I've made some not-so-smart decisions or not caught onto the whole scheme of things until it's almost too late. But I knocked it out of the park when I met Jim. He was the best decision I ever made.