Been a slow few weeks. Now the holidays are far enough behind me to get back into things. Even though our (fake) Christmas tree is still up. Lots of ideas brewing, many partially started projects. Can’t focus yet on one so I’m scattershotting my way through the week. And, sadly, our dog Kismet, a 14-year-old Belgian Sheepdog, is ailing enough for me to make the preliminary call to a vet and schedule a housecall for the last good-bye. Need to focus to stave off heartbreak.
I’m using the Pomodoro Technique. Not as sexy as it sounds. Half-hour on, half-hour off. This half hour: Episode Two of THE PACIFIC.
Just saw 127 HOURS. It really struck a nerve.
Sitting in O’Hare airport with my family. Both kids are fiddling with iPods and sticker books and generally being 3-year-olds. I’m looking forward to the flight time to catch up on SHERLOCK. With the passing of my dad it feels like, and this is what folks always say, a great weight has lifted. My mother is the “Widow Simkins” now and, dare I say, I think she might welcome the name. It’s been a rough few years filled with illness and unexpected tragedy. With luck the next few years will be blessedly less eventful.
Ah, the research process. I’m starting a new project. A spec screenplay. And there’s nothing better than that part of the journey where procrastination can be labeled research. Books, music (thanks, iTunes) and coffee shops with wifi are my drugs of choice as this thing in my head begins to rattle loud enough to move my fingers on a keyboard. This new thing is actually an old thing. An old idea that, while I thought it was good at the time, was way beyond the scope of my knowledge. Short version: I hadn’t lived enough. I’m thinking now that the time is right. There’s enough rings in my tree that I can almost lose count. With that, it’s time to write.
March 31, 1933 - Nov. 1, 2010
SOUTH BEND - Jay Lyn Simkins, 77, passed away on Monday, November 1, 2010, after a long illness. He died peacefully at home in the arms of his wife of 56 years, Janet Simkins. His family was at his bedside.
Jay was born in Braymer, Missouri, on March 31, 1933, to J. Lee and Josephine Simkins, joining his older brother Joe in a romping childhood filled with Twain-like hijinks and cagey adventures made more lively under the stern eye of his father, the local principal.
He grew up handsome, broad-shouldered and irreverent, playing football, baseball, running track and chasing girls who were happy at being caught.
In college at the University of Missouri - Columbia, Jay was introduced to Janet Chambers, a long-legged, slim and sharp-eyed freshman. After long kisses and a short courtship, Jay and Janet were married on August 20, 1954, in St. Louis, Missouri. The newlyweds landed at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, where Jay graduated the ROTC as a 2nd Lieutenant. After moving to St. Louis for a job with McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, their first son, Bradley Jay Simkins, was born October 4, 1955.
In 1957 the family moved to South Bend, Indiana, and Jay joined The Chambers Shoe Company founded by his father-in-law, Chester Chambers. On May 19, 1959, their second son, David, was born. Several years later Jay and Janet were introduced to Susan Hagans, a teenager in need of foster care. Susan joined the family and became part of the crew that rocked with Beatles, watched men walk on the moon and, after marrying Chuck Snyder, Susan brought Jay’s first grandkids into the world.
During the 1960s (coaching Little League) and ’70s (serving in the Roseland Rotary Club where he was president) Jay oversaw the operations of Milady Shop Shoes (also its president for 15 years). With the help of a bright cadre of young, trusted employees, Jay brought high fashion to South Bend. In the late ’70s Jay left the shoe business and joined Janet selling real estate as a broker for the Smith-Zeisz Company.
Throughout his life Jay was always kind, always ready with a joke, and always there if you needed a hand. He helped. Jay is survived by his wife, Janet, and his three children, Brad (Sally), David (Laura), and Sue (Charles) Snyder. His four grandsons, Bill, Sean, Jason and Graham, and granddaughters, Kristin, Kristina and Kaley, will miss his laughter and his love as will his great-grandkids, Austin, Riley, Haley and Kiley.
Friends may visit with the family from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5th, in the Welsheimer Family Funeral Home, 17033 Cleveland Road. A memorial of remembrance will begin at 7 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to The Center for Hospice, 111 Sunnybrook Court, South Bend, IN 46637. Family and friends may leave e-mail condolences at www.welsheimer.com.
Published in South Bend Tribune on November 4, 2010
(Source: tinyurl.com)
