Sunday, January 24, 2021
I went to school with Jimmy, he was always a good guy, quiet and respectful. I believed that's how he lived his life. However, there was one incident in Grade (?) when the teacher had set up a spelling bee for the class where the boys competed against the girls. Well, I was a pretty good speller and ended up in the final against a girl, the teacher's daughter. Well, the teacher gave the girl a word, something like "happy" which she quickly spelled. But I was given the word "wrath", which I stumbled on and was eliminated and the girl (teacher's daughter) won. Well, Jimmy didn't think this was fair, and he got quite animated with the teacher accusing her of fixing it in favour of her daughter - he made quite a ruckus in the classroom, something I'd never seen him do before or after. Luckily for everyone, my aunt, Mary Donlan, the nurse, happened to be just outside the room and heard the ruckus and came in to see what was going on. Now, you'd think that the teacher, who was generally a good teacher and quite strict, would have full control over the class, but Jimmy was having none of it, and he continued to oppose her. Well, my aunt stepped in and told Jimmy to settle down, which he immediately did. And with good reason - my aunt decided who got shots and who didn't and you didn't fool around with anything she said. Anyway, it all ended well, but I'll never forget Jimmy for sticking up for me, in his quiet and assertive manner. I really liked Jimmy and although I moved away from Chapeau a very long time ago, I've never forgotten him, always a nice man.
I extend my condolences to the McKinnon family, good and respectful people, too.
