My sixth grade class was large enough that there weren't enough desks in the room for everyone. When my teacher asked if anyone would volunteer to sit at the table in the back of the room, I quickly raised my hand. This was my chance to have my own space in class. I didnt realize that it also meant that I would be unable to hide a mess inside a desk like everyone else could. Still it wasnt too bad. I could never be accused to talking to anyone else or cheating, since no one was right around me and I generally enjoyed being my own little island in the whole room. Midway through the school year, we received a new student, Jean, and of course my kingdom was where she was given her seat since I had ample room at my table. She was a nice girl and I enjoyed sitting with her throughout the year. I remember her distinct love of horses and we would each tease and joke with the other as the year progressed. She was a good person and I enjoyed the time we took to get to know each other.
About midway through the year as well, our teacher decided to give the class a 'pop quiz'. Not anything that you would expect, but rather about the other kids in the room. We were to answer with the name of a student to each question and then pass them in. She wouldnt let any of us see the results. To this day I am not sure why she did it, although I have a slim idea. I recall that one of the questions was along the lines of, "Which student do you dislike the most?" That was probably the easiest question to answer and I quickly wrote down the name "Jimmy". Jim was the child that everyone sighed when he came around. He was loud, could be crass and he could easily cross the line when it came to teasing others. He just seemed to have the incredible ability to rub others wrong with no matter what he said or did. All that the teacher said after she had collected them and looked them over was, "That's pretty much what I thought I would see."
Jim was in the band just as I was. I was still playing the clarinet at this time and he played the baritone (brass instrument resembling a smaller tuba). I dont know why I seemed to dislike him so much. I knew nothing about him aside from what I saw in class. Judging from that he didnt take much seriously at all. (In a weird twist, six years later, he tied for the funniest student in our senior class.) He just had an undeniable way of getting under your skin no matter what you were doing. I couldnt see us ever getting along together in any way shape or form.
Moving forward through the years, I came to realize something about Jim. That no matter what happened, he was always there. I dont know which of us matured first, or if either of us ever did, but eventually much of what he sad and did WAS funny to me. He slightly changed in that there was a good natured way to his ribbing of others and if he could ever do anything for you, he would. He had a gift of gab and didnt fear using it on anyone and everyone around him. He also had a way of being very giving with his time and of himself that began to take precedence in his personality. I began to enjoy spending time around him. He never failed to have the ability to make me laugh. All throughout the years we attended band camp he was always in my cabin. On any trips, we tried to bunk in the same rooms. I came to think of his mom and dad as really nice people and would occasionally show up at his house after school when he let us know that his mother was making fresh home made bread. After we all graduated high school and went our seperate ways, Jim and I attended the same community college and hung around as much as our schedules allowed. When I was living with the woman I have referenced previously that I ended up marrying, we got into an argument one day. I had spent the last $12 I had on pizza for her neices who were over to visit us and for some reason they didnt like it. It quickly devolved into an argument and when I told her that there was nothing else I could do because I had no more money, she threw a full glass of pepsi in my face. At that moment if I didnt get away from her I was going to strike her. I have never hit a woman in anger in my life and this wasnt going to be the start. I walked outside in my bare feet and just started walking. This was in the middle of June and the pavement of the roads burned my feet as I walked, but the only place that I could think of to go at that time was to Jim's house which was roughly three miles away. By the time I had arrived, I was limping pretty noticeably. I knocked on the door, but soon realized that no one was home. I then looked at my feet which were pretty well blistered and bloodied from the walk on the hot asphalt and rocks. As it got dark, I laid down on the glider on their porch and went to sleep. Early the next morning, they returned. One of Jim's relatives had passed away and they were in another town for the funeral the previous day. I privately told him what had happened and even with the bad time that his family was experiencing, they welcomed me in to get cleaned up. When his mother passed away a number of years ago, I attended her viewing and broke down in his arms while he hugged me tight. He has seen each of my kids on the days that they were born and throughout all of my rough times, he was always out there for me. My son's name is middle names is James in his honor. He went into business for himself a while back doing something that he is very passionate about and he has been somewhat of a success at it. We maintain close contact and he is truly someone that I would trust with my life. He knows that my door is always open for him as well. He is the one person outside of my family that I can honestly say I love as a human being. There is no one else out there I consider as close a friend as him.
Its kind of strange how relationships can change over time. When I first met Jim, I would have never thought that we would become best of friends later in our lives. Now, I cant think of my life without him as a part of it. Dont judge everything in life by initial impressions or burn any bridges that you may need to cross later. Everything can change over time and with a different perspective. Things that you once thought you have no use for, could suddenly become things that you cant do without. Be adaptable to change, after all, you are changing every day as well.