Editor’s Note: Our dear friend and contributor, James Bishop Jr., passed away on April 23, 2019. Jim was an amazing man, and we are honored to have known him for the past 32 years. You will be missed greatly, Jim. Rest in peace.
Beyond the Telling—In Memory of Jim Bishop Jr.
From his Personal Assistant, Karen Walker
Cat beside me in the morning hour,
Cat beside me in my mourning hour,
Tears roll for an old friend,
Tears fall for an old man,
With a rugged spirit
Tell us sometime in another domain,
What was it like?
Did you journey through the stars?
Did you ride the zenith
And exit through the Sun?
Were there helpers,
Sister, Father,
Calling you forth?
Or were you alone?
Did your Mother greet you?
Did your Mother teach you
The ways of your new world?
Perhaps you are still traveling,
Visiting places in spaces
Of your consciousness,
That you never knew existed
When you are absorbed into the universe,
When you have transitioned into cosmic dust,
Come visit some afternoon,
On the porch with iced tea,
While worlds cross
Through a crack in linear time,
And share a moment,
A thought,
A whim,
A smile,
A convergence
Remind us of the magnificence
The grandeur,
Of the Great Beyond,
And solve the mystery:
Who is the Man in the Bright Pajamas?
Note: Many who knew Jim Bishop may have heard him say when asked how he was doing, “I am walking and talking, until the Man in the Bright Pajamas comes for me.”
4 Comments
Loved that gentle-man….He well be missed….
I’ve known Jim Bishop for over a decade and worked with him for a year and a half. He was a man of intelligence and humor with his own unique and charming style as a well- known published author. I’ll miss you Jim!
I knew and loved James Bishop for 34 years. We met in Los Angeles through mutual newspaper friends. I showed him how to write screenplays & he kept one of mine with him for the rest of his life We played tennis, hiked in the mountains & laughed. He taught me about nature, about the desert, about the history of the SW Native Americans. He sent me wonderful flowers on special birthdays, never forgetting. He was the one I called when I needed support from a loving friend and he was always able to help. I visited him three times in Sedona and met so many fascinating people who loved him . We spoke weekly. I will miss him more than I can ever express. I love you Jimmer & will miss you more each passing day.
I met Jim in Sedona in 1988. Along with Morrie Horowitz we pressed Sedonans to realize their potential with The World Famous Sedona Excentric. I was away when I got the news of his passing. I am on Cape Cod, a place where Bishop played tennis and sailed in his youth. We shared a common love for the environment, social justice and human dignity and decency. We both volunteered at Sedona Recycles as board members and shared a place on the board of Voice of Choice for 179. He was one of the few people I knew or know today that walked what they talked. He wrote for the Excentric for the 25 plus years we published. He wrote op eds for the Arizona Republic. he served in the environmental division of the Carter administration, wrote for News Week magazine for years, was devoted to his children and a lover of the arts – written, spoken, sung, drawn, sculpted, plastered, acted – every form of expression. He loved a good glass of red wine and a robust, honest conversation and debate with people of equal passion. He was loved by many and respected by all who knew him. His last book, the Pink Nectar Cafe was loosely based on characters and conversations from the former Wrenwood Bar. He was a founding member of the Sedona DDD (Don’t Die Dumb) Club. He was a loyal friend and got as close as anyone could to loving unconditionally. My wife, MJ, and I will miss him forever. I encourage everyone to read his books and keep him in your hearts.