James Lewis "Jim" Rogers, b. Nov 18, 1976

Jim’s 16th Birthday. No one could of predicted that Jim would become the best driver in the family. Prior to his sixteenth birthday, he had finished off a couple of cars “practice driving” off road. His most dramatic incident involved racing through the pasture in an old Blazer. A low lying tree ripped the roof off making a convertible of this Blazer. With Jim unharmed, the story was added to family lore with a laugh and head shake, and  “oh, only Jimby ... ” crossing all of our minds.

Thirty-five years ago today my family welcomed James Lewis “Jim” Rogers to the world. This was not Mom’s first time around the birthing track--her seventh to be specific--and she walked out of the hospital with her baby cradled in her arms the very next day. Two years earlier, Mom almost died in childbirth and her twin babies went to heaven. On November 18, 1976, God blessed her with a picture perfect delivery and baby boy. She knew her family was complete.

The youngest in a large family is a unique place to live; I know nothing about it and never will. I watched my brother John as the baby for years before Jim arrived. Then, of course, Jim was the baby. I always envied that spot on the ladder though John passed the torch to Jim without thought. 

November 18 will always be Jim’s birthday, always a day to celebrate his life and love. He now has two birthdays: the day he went to Heaven and the day he was born on Earth. 

Jim’s 21st Birthday. No one anticipated their 21st birthday more than Jim. It wasn’t about a bar or a drink but rather our parents' tradition of taking each 21-year-old to Las Vegas. Jim invited me to be his guest on the trip with Mom and Dad. Caesar’s Palace provided our playground for a weekend of debauchery in Jim’s honor. This trip also became part of the family story but the two of us kept certain details of that chapter to ourselves. We owned it and still do.