JIM- A VERY SPECIAL MISFIT!

     Most people, that have been special in my life, were many times mavericks, misfits or at least the underdog in some way. Jim Haher fits that description to a "T."

      I met Jim when I worked at Stanbrough Realty that later became 1st Realty Better Homes & Gardens. It was on one of our incentive trips to Hawaii that we really got to know one another. He had gone on the trip alone and it seemed like he always ended up near-by. Jim was a loner, but, very successful in real-estate. Every year he made the Million Dollar Club, primarily selling or listing less-expensive homes and most in outlying, small towns around Des Moines. He had found his niche in dealing with buyers and sellers that other realtors didn't want to contend with.

    Jim could be  very abrasive and was, to say the least, extremely slovenly. He lived on one side of a one-bedroom-each duplex that he owned in the Beaverdale area on the northwest part of  Des Moines. He had a cleaning lady that came in once or twice a month.  I was never sure what she actually did. 

     But, there was that something that I liked about Jim. First of all, he was in touch with himself and could be very philosophical in a spiritual kind of way. Some of that came out when he was helping me through my second divorce. 

     Our biggest common denominator was food. We enjoyed meeting quite often for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Some of our favorite times we shared was dining at the Waterfront Seafood Restaurant in West Des Moines.We were known  to order several dishes of various seafood items to sample and share. We did feast!

     We also enjoyed many memories of sporting events.He loved Nortre Dame and we attended a couple of football games at South Bend, Indiana. Also, we attended a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field along with several trips to Iowa City to watch our beloved Hawkeyes. Although, the last few times it was very difficult for him to get around with his extreme weight and diabetic condition. 

     His big passion was baseball. Jim's mind was a baseball encyclopedia. He knew big league teams frontwards and backwards, the cities where they originated from and so on. His dad coached little league when he lived in New York growing up and hid dad would take him to several major league games. 

     Jim's mother lived in Binghamton, New York (upstate) and would come to Iowa to visit from time to time. She always reminded me of my Grandma Smith. A neat lady. 

     While visiting his mother and family back in New York around Christmas in 2005, Jim had a heart attack and passed away just after enjoying Christmas dinner. He died too early, but, at least peacefully and right after one of his life's pleasures. I miss your friendship, Jim! My only regret was never accompanying him out to upstate New York and taking in all the beauty that he loved so much!