You never know when youre going to meet a person who is going to have a significant impact on your life. 4 years ago, I was looking for an apartment to move into near midtown when I called this ad on Craigslist, the man said his name was Mitch and hed meet me at the apartment on 4th Avenue in Oak Park. I walked through the apartment and I took it. I filled out the application and Mitch said Burks? Man, you Bernard Burks son? I said Yep! He cracked a smile and said Man, I went to school with your father man! Yeah, you can have this apartment! He showed me everything about the rooms, the building, everything. Mitch was a muscular man, looked like he could bench press 350lbs+ at 60+. He was my property manager for over 2 years. Hed come pick up my rent, hed let me pay late, as long as I let him know what was going on. He would call me and ask how my business was doing. If I had a problem, he was Johnny On The Spot and he could fix anything. I mean, he could literally fix anything. Im of the opinion he could fix a spaceccraft if he needed to. Everyone in the area knew Mitch. He was the corner of 36th St. & 4th Ave. Over the years we develoepd a good friendship,hed call me just to talk. Wed go get dinner. He introduced me to Boombah Weh. I think we ate that at every Vietnamese restaurant in South Sacramento for lunch and or dinner. He would call me up Whats up my brotha? You wanna eat some boombah wey? He helped me ove my stackable washer and dryer into my old house, even when he wasnt my property manager. When I lost a big deal in December, he offered me money to ensure that I would have a good Christmas. Cause according to Mitch Everyone should have a good Christmas Daunte That was Mitch, he was giving, he was considerate, he was righteous. He did things the right way, he treated people right and he had more friends than anyone Ive ever known. In August when I got back from my trip. I saw Mitch outside of the post office and he looked drastically different. Hed lost a lot of size. Mitch! I said. Man it looks like youve lost some size, my brotha! I have little buddy, I lost a lot of weight fast, I have congestive heart failure! I didnt know what congestive heart failure was in detail, but I knew anything with heart and failure couldnt be good. I knew that it wasnt good, so I made sure I got his number and I kept in close contact with him. Wed go eat at our favorite restaurant. #1 Buffet at least once a week. Hed eat sushi, Id try to eat the entire buffet. In fact the week of Thanksgiving, we went out to #1 and I ate 4 plates of food, he just looked at me and shook his head. You ate all that food man! That was the last time Mitch and I had dinner at our favorite restaurant. Last Monday, I got a call from Mitch, he was in Kaiser South and he wanted me to know where he was, since Id missed eating dinner last weekd because of the comedy shows. I went to see him and he was in good spirits and he told me, he had a blister he popped that got infected, and it had got septic. The only time Id heard the word septic, it was in reference to a tank in a country house but something told me that septic, congestive heart failure, and being a diabetic wasnt good. I stayed with him til after midnight, I left, went to work, came back to see him Wenesday, he wasnt as talkative but we spoke for a while before he went to sleep. On Friday I went to see him and he wasnt on the same floor, he was in ICU. When I found him, I saw him and I was sad, I knew that look, it was the look of a person going in and out of consciousness, he was breathing out of his mouth and his eyes would open and then theyd close. I met his sister and his wife was there, as I sat down to him, they both said he can hear you when you speak. I said Mitch, do you know Im here? He nodded his head yes, as he closed his eyes.I stayed with him by his bedside until about 1am. I had to go to Berkeley the next morning but all day as I drove to Berkeley, I was concerned for him. I didnt know if he would be able to overcome the bacteria and the fluid on the lungs, but he was a fighter, if anyone could do it, Mitch could. Sunday night I went by the hospital, and I walked by the room and I didnt see him or his wife. I went to the nurses desk and asked her where he was, she said he had discharged earlier that day. It was strange I thought, He discharged? I was here on Friday and he didnt look like he was going anywhere, not out of the hospital. I said. The nurse asked me if Id spoke to the family? I told her I hadnt and she encouraged me to get in touch with the family. As I left the hospital, I called Mitch on his cell phone in the parking lot, no answer. I drove by his house and no one was there, and I got a really nervous feeling. Last night I called his cell again and his wife answered the phone and she told me Daunte, my husband passed on Sunday. I was hurt, I spoke with his wife, then hung up the phone and I sat sown. He was gone, and tears began to sweel in my eyes. This was one of the best people Ive ever had the privilege of knowing in my life and I was just informed that he had transitioned. Sadness filled my spirit, at the same time, I felt so privileged and honored to know such a person. Jerome Mitchell, was a champion among men. There are men, there is a mans man and then there are men like Jerome Mitchell. He was everything good about a human, he was decent, he was honest, and he was my friend. Just by knowing him, he made me a better man than I was before I met him in 2010. He taught me without informing me on how to be a better human being to all people. Im hurting cause Im going to miss my friend, but I feel so fortunate that he thought to call me last Monday, and let me know where he was, and Im so thankful that in some of his last moments he knew that his Lil buddy was by his side. I dont know what Mitch believed what happened after we depart from this physical host of a body. This I do know, whatever he belived, wherever the good place is, hes in that place, he was an exceptional human being. Im going to miss him, I really am.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 06:55:55 +0000
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