He Was a One-er

I met Timmy not long after I got to Culebra.  He was managing one of Peter Ytrakis' properties, or maybe all of them, back then. Spunky drunky talker with a history I half believed and half laughed about. Over the years he was always ready to lend a hand if I needed one, which didn't happen often but when in need he was there, thin and wiry and a lot stronger than he looked.

For years, he had his poor old beat up Zippy with him and they were a regular sight, walking around town, doing odd jobs here and there. And there and here. Zippy died from poisoning and I wrote about her in this blog post, almost exactly a year ago.

He moved, with Auturo (3 points if you remember Auturo), to St. Croix and lived there a few years, but he came back here when he got sick. PR has great health care when you're broke.

With Timmy having advanced cancer, I didn't think he'd be around long. He'd abused his body for a long, long time. But he surprised a lot of us, only during the really bad times would you not see him heading to Happy Landing or Randaluz, even after the trach. He'd refuse rides to the clinic, saying the walk was good for him. I don't know how he did it, but he did.

A year ago, Timmy up on the hill helping fight the fire, even when he could barely breathe. ~photo credit: Mary Ann Lucking

Thanks, Mary Ann, for reminding me about this photo! This was a year ago to the day that Timmy left us.

Pan did the yeoman's job of caring for Timmy during the worst times and Steph stepped in while Pan has been gone. He was a fortunate man that way. Culebra has had more than its share of fortunate people who, but for the grace of devoted friends, would die alone. That's a weird sentence, but if you live here, you'll understand.

Just like him to pop off and have only a few people, who happened to be at the clinic, know he was gone. Word is trickling down now and maybe we'll know more soon. But Timmy lived a pretty quiet life here, and went out just as quietly, so who knows?

Rest in peace, Timmy. The road you chose wasn't the easiest, but you almost always had a smile on your face and a good word for everyone, you stubborn bastard.

p.s. If you have Timmy stories and want to share them here, that would be great!