James was a person with a childlike heart. He enjoyed making people laugh and enjoyed laughing himself. It was easy for him to entertain children with all his characters and as Santa Claus as he had that childlike heart himself. With his childlike heart, he enjoyed little things like his yearly birthday cards when he was younger that included a bag of guinea pig food that I always told him was groundhog food for the "little groundhog" as he was born on groundhog's day. When he was young, he took his driver's test in my car in which he had learned to drive. Over the years we would laugh at some of the silly things he did driving before he learned not to do them.
James always enjoyed our visits and talks over the years and I tried to encourage him and let him know that he was cared about. He also let me know that he cared too and we both appreciated the times we would share talks and memories. At times he was like an adopted son and at times I was as a mentor to him and tried to encourage him to follow the Lord's will for his life.
It was sad for James when he lost his twin sister Margaret and other family members. He was very close to his Uncle Tim Burchfield and lost him in Tim's unexpected death this year. James loved singing and Tim liked playing his guitar for him and singing too. When James wasn't singing himself, he was listening to singers.
On James' facebook page, he has a video of himself singing, "Wish You Were Here." That is the song I keep hearing in my mind when I think about James. There is a hurting empty place in my heart with the loss of James. He has been very special for many years and will always be special in my heart.
