For Ken

I was shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of a dear family friend, last week. Ken Porter was a hell of a nice guy, and I wanted to share a couple of my thoughts on the subject. I have had opportunities in my life to meet a number of hard working, honest people, who took pleasure out of the simple things we so often take for granted; eating dinner with our family, fishing with our friends, or cheering on our favorite football team. Ken was the model of that solid, southern man. He worked hard, as I learned firsthand. He once hired me to help put in an irrigation system when I was nearly broke. He could have done it without me, but he wanted to help. Even while digging ditches under a hot Georgia sun in August, Ken could laugh and carry on. Aside from his landscaping work, I knew Ken to do anything from removing trees to slinging a hammer. Anything he knew how to do, he was willing to do, but he never once took money from anyone for a job he couldn't do well. That's an honesty we don't see everyday in this world. He was the 'Jack of all trades', but anybody who says 'master of none' didn't know Ken. I couldn't judge how well he mastered any of his multiple crafts, but if he mastered anything, it was the art of being a friend. Ken was a friend to my Dad for nearly fifty years, I guess, and in all that time I never knew him to be anything but faithful. Since boyhood they got each other in and out of trouble, all in the name of fun and friendship. Even as they became grandfathers they still managed to get together for the UGA games, and drink a few beers. Ken never treated me as anything less than a friend, either. I will always remember him for the last time I saw him. My grandmother, who Ken knew since childhood, passed away last year. He was out of town when it happened, but as soon as he heard the news, he went to see my grandfather. He spent the better part of a day just talking with him, and it meant more to my grandfather, and the rest of us, than Ken probably knew. I will always remember him for how much he cared about all of his friends, especially my Dad. I know that friendship has meant a lot to Dad over the years. And I will always remember him for representing the best of what small-town America has to offer. You will be missed, Odell.