Picture of the Day - 3/17/09

Kind of a happy/sad day today, as we held a private family memorial ceremony for my brother, Jim, who had passed away earlier in February. In avoiding a drunk pedestrian back in July last year, he crashed his motorcycle into a fire hydrant causing paralysis from the neck down and requiring him to breathe using a respirator. After several bouts of infection, pneumonia, etc. his earthly body finally went to be with our Lord, Jesus, February 12th - just shy of his 53rd birthday. Praise God he was a Christian and is resting pain free in a new body in Heaven!

While he chose to live on the street, he also lived to serve others who were less fortunate. He served in the various soup kitchens six days a week, collected cans to earn money to help others with transportation and to find jobs and helped keep his friends vehicles going through his skills in auto mechanics. He became a railroad fan and enjoyed watching the trains come and go at the Fullerton Station with a group of fellow rail fans. He became so well-known by the conductors, they often allowed Jim to ride the train to San Diego or Los Angeles gratis. Shown in the frame is a picture of the Fullerton Station with Jim out front, taken from the book, Orange County - Then and Now. He was also active for quite a while in the local BMW motorcycle club, attending rallies and breakfast rides on occasion. While Jim will be missed by family and friends, it's also good to realize he's no longer in pain and that we'll get to see him again once we all go home to Heaven.