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Today would have been my cousin Jay’s 41st birthday, but sadly he passed on Aug 22, 2006. He will never get to meet Jordan, and that saddens me greatly, however, he did get to see her picture, and sent a very touching e-mail to my mom about Jordan before he died. Jay had Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or OI which confined him to a wheelchair for most of his life. He lived in pain, but his attitude was great. He always had a joke to share, or a bit a sarcasm for whoever happened by. He gave me my nickname “Cream Puff” which I still use on-line. I always felt that he understood me, even when I didn’t really understand myself. He was incredibly sympathetic to all the injuries I had through the years, and really understood that kids can be cruel when faced with someone who is different. I always thought that he had every right to say to me that I shouldn’t complain about my torn muscles, or bad knees- at least I could walk/run/dance, but he never said a word. He knew what it was like when kids were cruel, he truly understood when he’d see me rub my knee when it was aching me. I believe we were kindred spirits in a way. We didn’t really talk about our physical problems with each other very much, but I always felt a connection with him. I only saw him at Christmas, as he lived in Kentucky, but we did keep in touch through e-mail a bit. That picture is from 1980 I believe- a trip to Kentucky that I took with my Mom. I wish that I could have a picture of him holding Jordan, and I wish that Jordan could have known him. He had a very unique perspective on life. I recently found a quote of his when doing a Google search on his name. I ran across his Amazon.com profile, and this is the quote I found that really sums it up: “I believe in saying ‘yes to life’”.
I want to post a poem of his that his sister e-mailed to us after he passed. It was found in his journal, and really sums up his life, and the way he lived it, and wished others would live.

Year after year, Unaware,
We live the day of our inevitable passing.

When transient flame and eternal flame
To each other wave
Their final wave

What if we knew our date?
Or the date of others?

If we knew,
Would there be
More love
More compassion
More tolerance
More peace

If we knew,
What good, if any,
Would it do?

~Jack “Jay” Clifton Crutcher, III