Farewell

It was a rather sad week for many in Jefferson County, as we lost a long time Jefferson County educator. John Hill was the long time Driver’s Education teacher and Assistant Basketball Coach at JCHS. He was also one of my father’s oldest friends and I don’t remember a time when John was not a part of my family’s or my life. I knew him very differently and I was shocked by his passing. My Dad died two years ago and Sunday was his birthday. As those who have lost loved ones know, birthdays are bittersweet but this one was much more bitter than sweet, as another close family friend stopped by to tell us of John’s passing on my Dad’s 68th birthday. Interestingly, John and my Mother share a birthday and he never failed to call or stop by and wish her a good day.

When someone close passes, it brings about a time of reassessment. Am I doing what I should be doing? Have I accomplished the things in life that I need to? Is there still time to make an impact? Of course, the answer is both yes and no. We never do as much as we could and we rarely do as little as we think that we do. But, we must always be aware that we are being watched by those around us and even little things can be important.

Several months ago, I was at a local drive through and was, frankly, having one of those days. You know the ones. Everything I touched fell or broke and nothing was going right. A gentleman in front of me in the line purchased my large drink and sent a message to tell the lady to have a nice day. He turned a bad day into an inspirational day for me. Since then, I have tried to find small ways to pass on that act of kindness. Sometimes, though, I get busy and simply forget. It is events like the passing of a good man that make me remember that every little gesture counts and I have renewed my quest to make someone’s day better. It doesn’t need to cost anything but a little bit of kindness. A couple of weeks ago, a lady that I thought I had anonymously purchased a drink for at that very same drive through let me know that the gesture had turned around a bad day.

In honor of those that have made my days special, I am committing to trying to do the same for others-Friends, family and strangers. I hope that something or someone can inspire you to make the commitment to do the same. Small gestures make great impact and memories of friends still here, or gone on, are wonderful inspirations. Farewell, John Hill. Tell my Dad I said “Hi”.