Jim Manning

I’ll never forget my first visit to Maddie’s house. She had to take Jim and Merribeth to the Ft Lauderdale airport, and I decided to tag along. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well that morning, so Maddie kindly gave me some medicine. I kept quiet during the entire car ride (you know me, I talk ALOT!). Jim asked about the medicine and its appearance. Maddie revealed that it was BENADRYL!! Jim jokingly suggested that I should take some every time I visited. So for my 21st birthday, Jim gifted me a bottle of Benadryl, complete with only two pills.Which I’ve never touched and have sitting on my vanity. I’ll always cherish this memory of Jim and all the wonderful things he’s done for me.

There’s a lot of my childhood I don’t remember. But I vividly remember being at Jimmy & Merribeth’s on the weekends. It was a place we were always busy, active, smiling, dancing, singing Tim McGraw & hunting hogs. A safe space where we were protected. Where we were never in trouble. Jimmy made it a rule that our mother was not allowed to raise her voice to us while there. And he stood his ground with that rule. I can only hope that Jimmy is with my dad & Melvin, catching up, sharing stories and drinking beer. 💚💚💚