A Great Guy has Passed Away...

Jim Lamont, a long time St. Patrick's Catholic Church member, a songwriter, a joke teller, a friend and great guy has passed away. Here is a photo of Jim and his wife Cheryl from the 2011 St. Patrick's festival. It was taken at the same time Jim was interviewed by the Lufkin Daily News on the subject of changes in the parish since 1928. 

I have gone by Jimmy and Cheryl's the past few years to play Happy Birthday for him on the tuba and spent a couple of hours last month playing songs on the cigar box guitar for him. He spent a couple of hours giving me tips on climbing a greased flag pole and how to pass off as a monkey after being hypnotized in a medicine show. Jim's in heaven singing his spirit songs and does not need a cigar box. I'm still down here on earth and  have not made it to the top of the flag pole and the monkey thing scares me.  

When I was first getting to know Jim about 25 years ago we were at a church Fat Tuesday dinner and I had just returned from a little Mardi Grawing in New Orleans the previous weekend. Jim loved to tell jokes and he began telling me one. He said "A hippy was at Mardi Gras and he had on a loin cloth. He stuck a bottle of gin in the waist band of it and the next thing he knew he got pushed out into the street and was walking along among the parade floats..." I couldn't listen to the rest of the joke because I was distracted about how this guy knew what had happened to me the past weekend. 

Jim was not a computer user but Cheryl keep him up on the blog but I don't think he really needed it. He knew you when he saw you. Till we sing your songs with you again, thanks for everything.