A Series of Fortunate Events
The most important thing that I learned from Jonathan was that friendship is not measured by how many emails you send or by how many visits or calls you make. It is measured by how someone makes you feel. One day at the end of the fall semester in 2008, I was driving home from Cal State Long Beach and I noticed an arrow sign that read BUCKS FOR BOOKS, I decided to try it out and sell back the load of books that I had in my car. Well I'm so glad I stopped that day because as soon as I walked in I saw Jonathan's smiling face. I thought to myself I wonder if he remembers me, it's been so long since we last saw each other. He said "Hi Michele, how have you been?"
That is how it always was with Jonathan, he always wanted to know how I was and what I had been up to. At that moment, I knew that no matter how many years had passed, our friendship would last forever. Whenever I ran into him, he always made me feel as no time had passed at all.
I met Jonathan 15 years ago at Bellflower Brethren Church and that is where most of my memories of him were made. I will remember our trips to the donut shop in between sunday school and church. Jonathan, Andy Winn and I would always hurry back to church and manage to sneak in right when the singing started! I will remember the way he smiled and how he lit up the room when he did. I will remember how he laughed at my jokes even if they weren't funny. I will remember him calling me his "chauffeur" because at the time I was the only one with a license. I will remember letting him drive my car, even though he was a couple months shy of turning 16 just because he assured me that he was a good driver!
I had the best time hanging out with Jonathan and Andy. We always had fun no matter what we did, whether it was going to the movies, hanging out at each other's houses or just driving through the car wash. I will most remember the summer we spent raising money right before our trip to BNYC in 1996. We painted houses, washed windows and did what we could to raise enough money to go so our parents didn't have to come up with all of it.
I remember hanging out at the park with Jonathan and Andy when Jonathan had the bright idea that we should collect bottles and cans to recycle. He told me that since him and Andy were the strongest, I should let them lift me into the dumpster so I could dig around for bottles and cans. Needless to say I went home smelling of trash that day, but who could say no to Jonathan right? So after all of our hard work and Carolyn's skills in finding awesome airline deals, we were on our way! BNYC was the most powerful trip I think we could have went on. I believe that in a way it brought us all closer. I will always remember the fun times we had in Kentucky! The only thing left to say is that Jonathan was one-of-a-kind. He was so caring and genuine! I am very thankful to have known such an amazing person!
Michele (Harrison) Smith
That is how it always was with Jonathan, he always wanted to know how I was and what I had been up to. At that moment, I knew that no matter how many years had passed, our friendship would last forever. Whenever I ran into him, he always made me feel as no time had passed at all.
I met Jonathan 15 years ago at Bellflower Brethren Church and that is where most of my memories of him were made. I will remember our trips to the donut shop in between sunday school and church. Jonathan, Andy Winn and I would always hurry back to church and manage to sneak in right when the singing started! I will remember the way he smiled and how he lit up the room when he did. I will remember how he laughed at my jokes even if they weren't funny. I will remember him calling me his "chauffeur" because at the time I was the only one with a license. I will remember letting him drive my car, even though he was a couple months shy of turning 16 just because he assured me that he was a good driver!
I had the best time hanging out with Jonathan and Andy. We always had fun no matter what we did, whether it was going to the movies, hanging out at each other's houses or just driving through the car wash. I will most remember the summer we spent raising money right before our trip to BNYC in 1996. We painted houses, washed windows and did what we could to raise enough money to go so our parents didn't have to come up with all of it.
I remember hanging out at the park with Jonathan and Andy when Jonathan had the bright idea that we should collect bottles and cans to recycle. He told me that since him and Andy were the strongest, I should let them lift me into the dumpster so I could dig around for bottles and cans. Needless to say I went home smelling of trash that day, but who could say no to Jonathan right? So after all of our hard work and Carolyn's skills in finding awesome airline deals, we were on our way! BNYC was the most powerful trip I think we could have went on. I believe that in a way it brought us all closer. I will always remember the fun times we had in Kentucky! The only thing left to say is that Jonathan was one-of-a-kind. He was so caring and genuine! I am very thankful to have known such an amazing person!
Michele (Harrison) Smith
