My Son Jimbo
For those who never knew him …

Schoolboy (cont.)

[Written by Jimbo's mother in her book "My Son Jimbo"]

Sleep out

Back in our apple tree days, one of the trees had a large horizontal branch with a fork in it. One day Jimbo discovered he could be quite comfortable snuggled up in the crotch and announced he was going to spend the night there. I smiled and forgot it.

That evening, carrying pillow and blanket, Jimbo climbed up to his branch and settled in. Dick was afraid he’d go to sleep and fall off, but I said not a chance. Anyhow, I wanted to see how this ingenious child would get out of it.

We kept track of him out a window. It was a clear star-studded night so we could clearly see him shifting position with increasing frequency, until finally he climbed down and came inside to inform us that he would have stayed out there all night but as he thought it was probably going to rain, he had better do it another time.

Modesty

His best friend was Jayne Bean. One summer day I invited the two of them to go swimming. Jayne had been taught that she shouldn’t undress in public, so she and Jimbo were careful to close his bedroom door before they changed into their bathing suits.

Schoolboy (cont.)

[Written by Jimbo's mother in her book "My Son Jimbo"]

Vanity

When he got his first pair of glasses, he was absolutely thrilled with them. His best friend whom he greatly admired wore glasses, so I think Jimbo equated glasses with great charm and popularity. 

I found him posing in front of the mirror. “You know, Mom, ” he said, “This could change my whole life.”

Double standard

He grew me a plant in school for Mother’s Day, but got mad at me that day, so he gave it to Dick [Jinny's husband/JImbo's father]. We’d had a few words, aand he’d given me a little lip. So I said, “Now, Jimbo, you just told me you didn’t like that kind of talk.”

Said he, “That’s different–I have a good reason.”

Chauvinist

When I told him to clean the disaster area that was his room, he informed me that housework was my job. Quickly detecting a difference of opinion on that point, he protested, “You only had me to do your work for you!”

Schoolboy

[Written by Jimbo's mother in her book "My Son Jimbo"]

In first grade when the kiddies learned to print, the assignment was to write about your family. The amused teacher saved the paper for me, and I still have it.

    My brother is in the air force.
    My sister Baba plays. 
    My sister Sally is in India.
    My sister Holly skis.
    My sister Sherry draws.
    My father teaches economics.
    My mother never cleans the house.

He also learned in school that “September 21 is the first day of December.”

Aged Mom

As I sat for the umpteenth time in a second grade classroom for the annual open house, I noticed how much younger the mothers were then than they used to be. Then I spotted one about my own vintage. “A-ha,” I thought to myself, “so I’m not the only mom who got a little surprise in her middle years!”

After the close of the program, I sidled up to her and murmured, “And which one is YOUR child?” 

“That one,” she replied, pointing to the teacher!

Others remember Jimbo

[Written by those who knew Jimbo, right after his death]

“… Jimbo was a little fellow when you came, and we had been here several years. We loved watching him grow up. He went up and down the street in all  kinds of transportation–wagons, big wheels, tricycles, bicycles, contraptions for the 4th of July parades, then mopeds and cars.

“When our grandchildren visited us, he shared his outdoor equipment with them. When we purchased our little dog Kip, Jimbo would stop by to see him. He enjoyed Kip’s tricks. When he had publicity in the paper, he would stop by to get an extra copy. When you [Jinny] created our Christmas cards, he delivered them to us. He was so pleased with what you could do.

“Off and on he would come to ask us to help with some school project. In a very gentle way he would ask us.

He was a sweet, interesting person, wrapped up in whatever he was doing. We loved him.”

–Jo and John Conklin

“… We’ll always remember Jimbo’s contribution to the sign-making at the tennis tournament. He seemed to be following his mother’s talent. We will always remember him as a blossoming bright young man….”

–Carol Alexander

“… I remember the last time Jim was here at our house. He had found a little dog that was hurt, and he was trying to find where it belonged. This was when he was first able to drive and he was getting to do both things–help an animal in distress and have the joy of driving at 16….”

–Marge Warner

Little guy (cont’d)

[Written by Jimbo's mother in her book]

Wanderlust

His insatiable curiosity and independence got him “lost” anytime I looked the other way. The first time was in Murphy’s store; he had discovered the escalator. Frantically searching, I arrived at the top of the escalator, just in time to see a little blond toddler heading for the door. My booming voice may not have stopped him, but a kindly lady sized up the situation and she did.

*     *     *

The scariest time was at a campground in the middle of hundreds of uninhabited wooded acres in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Marion and Jimbo were bugging me about something, so in a fit of irritation I told them to get lost — and they did. It was dark when they finally straggled back to their frantic family.

*     *     *

I lost him at COSI, the Zoo, and the Art Museum. At the State Fair I was in a panic until I heard the usual announcement over the loudspeakers about a “little boy in blue jeans and a red shirt …” etc.

*     *     *

After that, whenever I took my outgoing, adventurous toddler anywhere, I tied a long closthesline around his middle. At the supermarket, when I heard a disapproving voice stating that leashes were for dogs, I observed that that was okay, “My son thinks he’s a dog, and don’t get too close or he’ll bite.”

Dogs

Actually I wasn’t too far off the mark. Jimbo adored animals, so much so that I worried lest he get involved with a big set of teeth. But I guess dogs know who’s their friend. 

He asked me one day if he could go out and pay with his friends. When I looked out to see who his friends were, I saw two dogs. So he’d have a supply of people friends, I sent him to nursery school at three, a happy event for both of us.