Baja Bernie
`Normal` Nomad Correspondent
Posts: 2962
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: Sunset Beach
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just dancing through life
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Don Jimmy Smith--this one and then I'm gone''for a while
Don Jimmy
A raw boned Texan home from the wars
Happy to be home but needing something more
A crop duster he became
A raw boned Texan
Looking around, smelling the earth
A smile on his face
To school in New Mexico he went
Looking to develop a trade
A young lady he met
A child conceived
I got a duty he said
And the wedding went ahead
No love there
So Jimmy gave his name
And parted
To Hollywood he went
Seeking his fortune
A silly man
Knowing nothing
But expecting everything
A dream in the making
Forward he went
The stars loved him
A stuntman he became
Loved by all
He knew how to smile
And lay on a line
His desire was to become a cop
And that he did
And a motorcycle cop at that
Roaring up and down the highway
Talking to himself
What better job could he find
He happened upon
A bright new Cadillac
the grille met him face to face
To the hospital he went with
A grimace at the pain
Months he spent
Leg suspended
Way up high
Nurses smiling and more
Home from the hospital
He limped about
One leg shorter
Sporting a crutch
A banty rooster
So ready to fight
Booze and broads
Were his excuse
His escape from pain
A friend woke him
Months later
From a drunken stupor
Suggested that he head south
Down Baja way
Where the women were—well women
Gawd Damn
I’m off to that land
Leg in a cast on his motor he went
No food or water
Only Tequila
To ease the pain
Over and around
Rocks and boulders
He went
After a difficult time
A husband he became
Her name we all know
Why Hell he was a gringo
And a Texican
To boot
He learned the language
Loved the kids
And a loving papa he became
So deeply into the culture
He went
That he developed a name
A Historian
And to many
A slinger of ink
A teller of yarns
And stories
Untold
He drove an airplane
To deliver milk
To rescue people, a daily chore
He drove the
Baja 500
Made friends for life
Our friend
A guy who cared
We miss him dearly
Don Jimmy
A friend
Gone!
By Bernie Swaim
2004
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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Thanks, Bernie. Catch you on the rebound, amigo.
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bajalorena
Nomad
Posts: 141
Registered: 3-31-2009
Location: BuenaVista, BCS
Member Is Offline
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What a man he was..........
Thanks for helping us remember. He is gone from our sight, but will remain forever in our hearts.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65285
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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It is great to have a dose of Jimmy Smith every once in a while! I highly recommend having his book...
Thanks Bernie!
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bajadave1
Nomad
Posts: 225
Registered: 7-20-2004
Location: Los Barriles, BCS
Member Is Offline
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Bernie
Thanks Amigo. A couple of days ago I drove by his resting place. Thought about the stories he loved to tell. Miss him still.
Dave
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8088
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
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Thank you. I enjoyed that.
But better yet, I'm glad to hear you're up and about again.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65285
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajadave1
Thanks Amigo. A couple of days ago I drove by his resting place. Thought about the stories he loved to tell. Miss him still.
Dave
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Miss his visits up here over at Dave Deal's place... now Dave is with Jimmy telling Baja race stories... "and other yarns of Baja California"!
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akbear
Nomad
Posts: 203
Registered: 8-23-2003
Location: Buena Vista BCS
Member Is Offline
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Thanks Bernie,
I also think & miss him when I pass the resting & the living place (tienda).
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Eli
Super Nomad
Posts: 1471
Registered: 8-26-2003
Location: L.B. Baja Sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: Some times Observing, sometimes Oblivious.
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Thanks for the memories Bernie, and thanks Charlie for the hard copy that you dropped off at the gallery, I got it.
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