Saturday, May 21, 2011

My Friend Tim

My friend Tim was married to my wife's sister, Amy.

My friend Tim loved his family.

My friend Tim would do anything for you, and help whenever you needed it. He would never ask for anything in return.

My friend Tim and his wife Amy were with us when my wife's water broke in a restaurant in Valparaiso, Indiana. We needed to take his brand new car to the hospital. Luckily he had towels in the trunk so we wouldn't ruin his new leather seats. Michael, our youngest was born the next day.

My friend Tim would miss a short putt, and mutter under his breath over and over "f**kin' idiot". You couldn't help but laugh. Think about the movie Boogie Nights when Philip Seymour Hoffman's character, Scotty J. tries to kiss Mark Wahlberg's character, Dirk Diggler in the driveway-and is rebuffed-you get the picture...

My friend Tim was very proud the day his son Andrew was born.

My friend Tim was so happy when his wife Amy announced she was pregnant with their second child, Emma.

My friend Tim gave me a Steelers cap when our family moved to Pittsburgh. My wife Tammy would tell you I don't have the best shaped head for caps, so I kept it in my office on a shelf. That summer Tim and his family came to visit, and when I saw the cap I thought "Tim would really like this!" When I gave it to him he thanked me, and then my wife Tammy piped up, "Geez Jim, you're an idiot, Tim gave that cap to you last Winter!" Typical of Tim, we had a great laugh over that re-gifting incident.

My friend Tim loved the Cincinnati Bengals.

My friend Tim worked his way from the age of 16 as a stock/warehouse man at Grainger to a Branch Manager. He had a great 27 year career there.

My friend Tim preferred "sprinkle cheese" on his hot dogs rather than liquid cheese.

My friend Tim and I vacationed together with our families several times in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We were fortunate that our wives would let us go golfing in the mornings, while they took care of the kids. After one of our rounds of golf we decided to stop by a nondescript hot dog stand at the side of the road for lunch. We each ordered a footlong chili cheese dog and a Diet Coke. (It was liquid cheese, by the way.) We decided that we would sit at the old picnic table outside of the stand, both of us facing the road. Not realizing the picnic table wasn't designed for two, 240 pound men to sit on one side of the table, we toppled over, but still had the foresight to grab our footlongs and drinks...and didn't spill a drop. But neither of us wanted to put our food on the ground, so we just layed there like turtles on our backs!

We buried my friend Tim this past Thursday after his untimely death on Sunday, May 15th, 2011.

I will miss my friend Tim.

Dedicated to the memory of Tim Quinlisk. With love to his wife Amy, his son Andrew and his daughter Emma.

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