It is with some sadness that I must report the passing of my friend Tim Smith AKA Theodore Jamison on Periscope and Twitter.
I say “some sadness” because Tim was an eternally optimistic and solid guy.
Tim was a biker. He loved his Harley. You couldn’t really know him unless you understood motorcycles and the rebel culture.
He was in a terrible accident some years ago and was in traction for some time. He was very resilient. He lived many years with chronic diseases but never gave into dark thoughts.
I always will remember him in good spirits. It was his most admirable quality, his good humor.
A native of Minnesota, he was a psychotic Green Bay Packers fan. I used to chide him that I didn’t know that baseball team.
Our point of commonality was the conservative movement that goes back to Bill Buckley and Ronald Reagan. Tim was a DIE HARD conservative. He was also 100% behind Donald Trump.
He fondly remembered the many MAGA meetups he attended where most of the attendees had their faces in their phones for the duration and never talked to him. He told me many times that he witnessed people at these meetups on drunken binges and engaging in careless infidelities. He was my secret intelligence collection source on the goings on of that group.
When I went my own way several months ago, Tim was one of the first people to congratulate me and offer support for my independent spirit. Tim was also a lone wolf, like I am. Maybe that is why we respected each other.
Many phonies and assorted fools may use the passing of Tim as an excuse for cheap emotion and maudlin histrionics. He specifically told me that, “the idea of a bunch of assholes changing their twitter handles to some bullshit like ‘Captain Theo I wish I’d Blown You’ makes me want to vomit.”
Theo, I won’t be changing my twitter account. You were a stand up guy. Tough as nails.
Live to ride, ride to live.
