Rest In Peace Jarronn

Rest In Peace Homie.

1 Year Later...

July 30th will mark 1 year since my good friend Jarronn passed away. Time sure does fly. If he were here on earth I know we'd be talking about the new Rozay album and I'd be getting that phone call from him with his infamous greeting "What's up Mike-DAWG!?!" at least once every month. He'd probably be coming to the Stogies & Sippin' event next month. He'd probably be talking about going on my upcoming cruise in January and telling me about the plans he and his wife Jessica have coming up. It'd be a lot of casual conversation, laughs, and joning. You know, the stuff friends do.

But although one year ago I lost a friend, I gained one more angel looking down over me. One more person to help me check my humility, integrity, and character when I think: "If [Jarronn] was here, what would he do/say?" One of those people whose impact on you after he passed may have been more resonant than his impact when he was alive. Because we tend to take those moments of life for granted, myself included.

In the year's time that's passed since he passed, all of us that knew him have aged, but the question is, have we grown? Have we grown in some positive way that we can look back on the last year and say that we've accomplished something that helped to make us a better person. So the anniversary of his passing is like a personal annual review of sorts for me, and also a celebration of the good times I had with him.

Rest In Peace Jarronn.

Remembering my friend, Jarronn Jackson...

The last post about Jarronn was during the fresh wound. I had just found out about his passing. I was hurting. I was angry. I didn't understand. I was searching for an answer and more importantly, an inner-peace that was only going to come in due time.

In the 4 days that have past since that post I've had time to grieve, pray, talk about it with friends, reminisce, pray, and start the healing process. To be honest, I'm still healing right now and it's tough when I look at the magnet on my refrigerator that's a picture of he and his wife (wedding invitation). It's tough when I think of how he tied a tie knot for me in 2000 at the NSBE National Convention that was so sharp that I kept that knot in my tie to THIS DAY (now it's never coming out). It's tough when I think about the fun times we had together.

Jarronn was a great person and he will be missed by a lot of people. He was a smart, down-to-earth, ambitious, and fun-loving person that enjoyed life to the fullest and valued those who were a part of his life. And his Facebook page is an example of how those people valued him as well.


I hope Jarronn's passing becomes inspiration for others to live life with the same passion, ambition, sense of humor, happiness, and love for God that he did.

For those that plan on attending his Memorial Service, details are below:

Jarronn Jackson Memorial Service
Saturday, August 8, 12:00 p.m.
Faith Temple No. 2
211 Maryland Park Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743

A repast will be held following the memorial service at the same location.

Flowers can be sent to the church, or donations can be sent to a memorial fund we have established through our church. Checks for the fund should be made out to Zion Church and sent to the attention of "Jarronn Jackson Memorial Fund." Donations also can be made through PayPal by visiting www.zionchurchonline.com.

R.I.P. Jarronn Jackson

Just got an email from a mutual friend telling me my homeboy died last night on his motorcycle. It fucked my head up bad. Still not really sure where my head is just yet but right now this feels therapeutic. He just got married on May 15!!! He probably hasn't even gotten the wedding photos back yet. His wife, his house, his job. In one short breath life is over. I've experienced a lot of loss in my life of people my age. Some close to me, some not so close. Jarronn and I weren't best friends but that was my man. We hung out, talked about real things going on in our lives, laughed, joked. Every once in a while I got a call from homie..."Mike DAWG, what's up brotha?!"

He hit me up on BBM earlier this week just to see how I was doing. I hadn't talked to him since his wedding but he always keeps in touch even if it's just to say what's up. My heart goes out to his family, his wife, and everybody else that knew him. We shared some fun-azz moments together...Miami, ski trip, and he and his wife were supposed to be going on my cruise in January.

It hurts. Rest In Peace Jarronn.