Annual JFF Benefit Bake/Yard Sale

It is almost that time again. It's hard to believe that it has been almost 3 years (but sometimes feels like a lifetime ago) that I lost a piece of my heart and soul. I am going to keep pushing forward, though sometimes it is more difficult than I feel I can handle, and make him as proud today as I possibly can. I am accepting donations for the yard sale side of the benefit at this time and will hopefully get your support with some baked goods when it comes closer to the date. We will be holding the benefit at GSHS, same as usual, the last Saturday in April (the 25th). The sale will be 8am-1pm. This year we will have a new addition to our benefit; Ryan Bunting, owner of Joes Famous Wings and Wieners, will be attending with his wonderful foods!!

 I will be taking information on people that are in need and make a decision along with the rest of the crew of JFF as to who shall receive the money from the benefit. If you have someone in mind please give me all of the information that you have about the family and the situation they are in, so that I can address the JFF board with the nominations. You can let a post here on Jbirds on how to contact you and we can get info that way (whatever makes you feel comfortable)

Thank you for your support in the past years and looking forward to seeing everyone at the sale.

God Bless!

From dad number 2; Gary Interdonato

I have had so many wonderful memories of Jimmy that it would be impossible to call anyone of them my “favorite”. This particular memory stands out because it was the start of many more, tells the story of the maiden voyage of my canoe “built for three” and ends with the last journey and a bottomless pit of “material” for Jimmy and Sean.

 

Sean and I began a father and son fishing, camping and floating trip ritual on the Delaware River in Barryville, NY 22 years ago when Sean was 8. Back at the beginning we would rent a raft along with Bill and Bob and then Bill and Matt. But a few years later Bill bought his own raft for his family and the trip expanded to include Jimmy as well as my brother John making it difficult for us to manage the float trip. Bill and his family used their raft, John would rent a canoe for him and his guest and that left Jimmy, Sean and I with limited options. We could not rent a raft because back then, the “boys” did not have the strength or stamina to handle the raft in low flows or headwinds. We could not rent a canoe because they were not designed to carry three people. So the only option for us was to buy a canoe capable of handling the three of us and fit it with a middle seat. The photo I have included (Jimmy, Sean and Matt in the picture) was taken on its maiden voyage, the first of dozens of trips and countless memories.

 

As time went on, and Jimmy and Sean grew from boys to young men, the canoe became a challenge. Center of gravity is everything in a canoe if you want to remain upright and Jimmy shot up very quickly, earning him the nickname “stretch” by Bill. I tried to lower our center of gravity  by adding extensions to the seats and that mostly worked until it was Sean’s turn to “stretch”. Our center of gravity in that canoe was no longer a match for the swift current and the countless rocks and boulders that were its most visible attributes. Everyone who knows me, Jimmy and Sean especially, is keenly aware that I am a safety freak. So you can imagine what those float trips were like with three 6 footers and a nervous parent. Since Jimmy was the tallest of us he could no longer ride in the middle seat so he took over Sean’s role as “scout” and rode in the bow. But with Jimmy being so tall I could no longer see downstream so it meant that he had the job of spotting the obstacles and giving me direction. Now every time we hit anything, be it major or minor, I would vocalize my frustration to Jimmy. “You didn’t tell me about that one”, “you need to pay more attention”, “you said right and the rock was left” – I think you get the picture.  Instead of getting mad at me, Jimmy turned it back on me. That was Jimmy --- he did that so well. Jimmy and Sean turned my anxiety into a joke and the two of them busted my chops over and over again.  

 

When I started this tribute I made reference to the last journey and that is the funniest and most memorable part of this story. The three of us loaded the canoe and headed down river for a day on the water. We always secured our belongings to prevent loss should we capsize, especially our rods and reels, but since we had just started out we had not completed that task. The water was very low for this trip and that meant navigating without hitting anything was impossible. Almost immediately after we launched we hit a series of rocks and the canoe got hung up and was teetering broadside.  I yelled out, “DO NOT MOVE – NO ONE MOVE AN INCH – JIMMY, SEAN DO NOTTTT MOVE”. I was shaking in my boots and Jimmy and Sean were laughing their butts off. Moments later we capsized, our gear - rods and reels included, was in the water. Now I was even more frantic --- yet Jimmy and Sean continued to mostly ignore me. You see, we were capsized in about a foot of water! Jimmy and Sean simply reached into the water, retrieved all of our belongings, tilted the canoe to drain the water we took on and that was that. That was the last time the three of us used that canoe, Jimmy and Sean opting instead to take their own raft for the remainder of our river trips.  But for the rest of our time together, Jimmy and Sean seized every opportunity to bust my chops --- repeating --- DO NOT MOVE. NO ONE MOVE. DO NOTTTT MOVE!

HB JAMES DUANE!!

This would've been Jimmy's 30th birthday... instead of being here celebrating with us, he is celebrating with a higher being. I know that he is always near, I just wish that I could hear him answer me from time to time; to hear his sarcastic wit would be awesome. Feel free to post some of your favorite memories with Jimmy today to honor his memory.

:(

Another Christmas..........

I know this may seem strange or sound really dumb, but today I stood and leaned over the back of my sofa staring out the front window for what seemed a very long time, waiting and dreaming of seeing Jimmy walk up the front yard to the door and swing it open to yell a resounding heeeearroooow...... HAAAAPPYYYY BIIIRRRTHHHDAAAAYYY MAW; the only way Jimmy can. :)
Makes my heart sad and happy at the same time.
Sad, because I miss him so much; and happy because he gave me so many great memories! I miss this boy so much that it is painful. My heart aches to hear his smartass comments. His humor was a match for mine- I miss that terribly as well.
I can't wait until I get to see him again!

 Love you boy!

adventure

Yes Cheryl, Jimmy was all about the thrill of living. I am so VERY glad that he did live a very happy and exciting life for the time that he had here with us. And it is awesome to see the friends and family that are still taking Jimmy with them in their travels and adventures. This is awesome in part because of the words in Jimmy's last letter. His desires were to be spread out as far as he could go. Each time I go away somewhere I make sure that I have some of his ashes to take with. (happy and sad moments)
Jimmy LOVED the yearly trip with Brianna. He looked forward to it. I loved that they stayed close for so long too.
 So, close friends and family- bring on the adventures!!

Niagra Falls

Well, it has been quite a while since Jimmy's spirit and some remains went over the falls thanks to Clare, aka "Jeff's Mom". Jimmy has so many people that loved him while he graced the Earth and they continue to love and cherish the memories that were shared, while making more! Jimmy has been taken to so many parts of this earth with the help of friends and family. The most recent being with his sister, Shelley. She went to Las Vegas and did a base jump from over 900 feet in the air. She wasn't allowed to carry and release so she wore her necklace, which was not allowed either but she tucked Jimmy near her heart and did it anyway. She was terrified, but knew that Jimmy would be with her and this is something he would have LOVED. Thank you to all who still continue thinking about Jimmy and following through with his last wishes to be spread as many locations as possible. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE LOVE WITH US.