Welcome to the memorial site for one of my most memorable friends, an adopted family member, a veteran by the name of James Daniel Arthur, a fella everyone called Jim. I met Jim on Mother’s Day, May 13, 2001. Outside in front of my home planting flowers in the flower ring around my trees, I was startled by his interruptive introduction. He lived up the street from me and my family and as he put it, just happened to be walking by. He said he had been watching me, looking for an opportunity to introduce himself as he had been told he would be doing a lot of work with me over the next few months. My company was under contract with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta at that time. That year we had been asked to launch an e-commerce store for the organization’s product and ticket sales on top of our normal responsibilities. The Executive Director had hired Jim to assist him with the administrative affairs of the event and specifically wanted him to work with me on putting the e-commerce program together. After informing me of his role, Jim proceeded to tell me that since he lived nearby, he wanted me to feel comfortable calling him to come down to work on the project or help with anything I needed at any time. Hmm.
Fast-forward to this day, May 8, 2021… It’s Mother’s Day Weekend. This morning my husband and I went shopping for flowers to plant in the pots on the deck in preparation for getting the deck area set up to be most enjoyable for the warmer seasons. I was reminded of “Pops”, my family nickname for Jim. Every Mother’s Day since 2009, he made a point of preparing the deck for summer on Mother’s Day Weekend. It’s been almost two years since Pops passed away on the morning of May 24, 2019. While I still miss him immensely, I figured it was time to get on with the wrap-up. Here’s where I will be pulling everything together soon.