Never Look Back

Oy vey, where has the time gone?? Every day this week I thought I was going to blog, then realized that no, I wasn't. Hmm, smells like school must have started. Very soon I will get back to stories about barfing children and my fabulous cats & wabbit, but there's one blog I've promised myself to write before I return to the mundanities of my life. (And yes, I did make that word up. I have a license to do that.)

Isn't it a funny thing about losing somebody you love? I feel a fervent need to remember Jason every day in every minute for the rest of my life. At the moment that's an easy thing to do. It's as if, since his body is gone, I feel compelled to keep him alive in thought, like that somehow makes him not really gone. Hopefully this is normal reaction and not a sign that I need to be institutionalized. Any more than I already do, I mean.

Anyhoo, there are some stories I want to share with you--uplifting, life-affirming, hope-inducing stories--about Jason. Some of them you will have read about in Rob's comments, but since I'm all about seizing onto other people's work so that less is created for me, I'll just elaborate a bit on those and add in a few of my own. Here we go:

*When Jason was in the hospital there came a point where lifesaving measures had to be stopped (seriously, this does fit into the uplifting category, just keep reading). His mother, my aunt, was sitting next to him with her head on the bed. In that moment between life and death, she heard Jason say to her, very loudly in her ear, "Mom, are you mad at me?" She looked up to see if anyone else had heard it, but of course they hadn't. Did Jason need to make sure she wasn't angry before he could go? Was he just so accustomed to asking this question--perhaps on a frequent basis during his life--that he couldn't resist one last time? Or was it just something my aunt created to help her deal with the loss of her son? I firmly believe not. Jason spoketh, and what a gift of hope he gave to his mother that his spirit lived on.

*That boy loved animals. When one of his cats accidentally got out, it was all hands on deck to find him. Imagine burly, tattooed motorcycle guys swarming the neighborhood looking for a cat. Oh, seriously, take a sec and imagine it--it's really a very entertaining picture. During this saga, one of Jason's friends pulled into the driveway and hit something with his car. Apparently Jason came quite unglued at the prospect that it might have been his missing cat. His friend assured him, "No, no, it was just a squirrel." Think that calmed Jason down?? Ohhhh-ho-ho, no. Beratement continued at full volume until his friend was properly chastised and probably promising to find the squirrel's family and offer recompense for his crime. And yes, the cat was eventually found.

*The assortment of people at the viewing and funeral was about the most interesting thing I've ever seen. There's my family dressed up in proper outfits, you know, and then there were the guys in their riding leathers and the girls in their barely-there dresses showing cleavage that was simply jaw-dropping. And lots and lots of tats and piercings. As my uncle said, "Well, I guess there's no dress code." But you know, were one prone to judging a book by its cover, this would have been the perfect place to blow the lid off that idea. And it was those big rough-looking fellas who cried the hardest. I think Jason would have really, really liked the levelling of the playing field that occurred there. It was good for us all. Lawsy, I wish you could have seen the pallbearers. That was a sight to behold.

*When Jason's friends sat down to tell stories about him, I assumed they would be about his riding exploits. Nope. They were about his heart. To a person, they all wanted to talk about how Jason made them feel. He was a jokester who loved making his friends laugh. He wanted them to be happy and had a knack for pulling anyone out of the foulest mood. He would give anything he had away if someone needed it, even if he needed it, too. If something needed to be fixed, he figured out a way to fix it. The loyalty that this kid inspired was incredible.

*My aunt and uncle wanted to bury Jason in his riding jacket. Unfortunately, it was too torn up in the accident to do that so my uncle went to the motorcycle store to see about getting another one. The owner asked if my uncle was Jason Watts' father, and when he told him yes, the guy told him to hold on a minute and he disappeared in the back. When he came back, it was with one of the traveling jackets that he kept on hand for riders who need one to wear during rallies. This was one that Jason had worn several times, and the owner handed it over, no charge. It was some small consolation to know that Jason could be buried in a jacket that he had worn doing something he loved.

*About a week before he died, Jason had gone over to his parents house to visit. Afterward, he left on his bike and his father left shortly after him to go on some errand. Apparently there was a man in a wheelchair in the neighborhood who was having some trouble getting up a hill, because my uncle spotted Jason pushing the guy in his chair with one hand while pushing his motorcycle with the other. He never got a chance to ask him about it, but wouldn't you just have loved to witness that?

Oh, there were so many stories, but I'll stop there. What follows is Jason's obituary and then a video that his friends made of his riding adventures. If you're prone to getting pissed at fast motorcyclists who drive waaaaay too fast and do stunty things while passing cars two inches from their side view mirrors, then, um, you may not want to watch this. It should probably have a health warning posted on it that says it can cause high blood pressure. If you do watch it, Jason is the guy on the right in the opening picture wearing the "Determined" t-shirt. He's wearing a red shirt in most of the riding parts. And in case you were wondering, this is what living life full on looks like.

Jack Northington "Jason" Watts III
1978 - 2007

Jack "Jason" Northington Watts III, 28, motorcyclist #43, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007, surrounded by friends and family at a hospital in Fort Worth. Memorials: Donations may be made in Jason's name to the Humane Society of the United States, Southwest Regional Office, 6815 Manhattan Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76120, 817-492-8000.

Jason was born Sept. 30, 1978, in Bryan to Jack N. and Merry L. Watts. His loves in life were his friends, family and motorcycles. He also had a special place in his heart for animals and was their champion. Jason began dirt bike racing at 12 years of age. By 16, he was racing all across Texas. From there, he became an accomplished mechanic and stunt rider, participating in the Batman Stunt Show at Six Flags Over Texas and then stunt riding at Six Flags Over Holland the year after. Jason continued as a stunt rider throughout the rest of his life. In addition, he also opened and operated Precision Motor Sports, specializing in the repair and maintenance of motorcycles. Jason was an advocate for all those (friends and strangers alike) who could not advocate for themselves; he would always stop what he was doing to help anyone in need. Survivors: Parents, Jack N. and Merry L. Watts; brother, Jeff Watts; many aunts, uncles and cousins, including his best friend and cousin, Bill Watts Jr.; too many friends to count; and Sylvester, Buddy, Chester and Kitty.