Throughout the years I knew Jonathan, I came to rely on him for things. When I needed a voice of reason and logic, he was the first person I called. When I wanted to procrastinate and not study, he always had something to do whether it was play games or just sit at the concrete tables on campus and tell stories for hours. When I needed to vent, he would listen then simply say he was sorry for whatever it was that had gotten me worked up. When I craved Haagen Daz, he rode all over Jackson with me looking in every grocery store, food mart, and gas station until I found it. When I needed somebody to laugh with me over whatever stupid mistake I'd made, he was always first in line to join in the laughter. These are the things that any great friend would do. The memories are specific to Jonathan for me, but the gestures are typical of best friends. However, there is one way in which I came to depend on Jonathan that will forever be Jonathan specific.
Today I found myself frustrated and asking God why Jonathan was in Heaven when I needed him in Jackson. My sister and I went to New Albany for the fourth. We got in last night around 11 pm, and I began to unpack the car. Knowing that she would be taking her car to work and I would be leaving for Atlanta, I went through her car thoroughly in order to get everything that was mine out. Once the car was empty I realized that my keys weren't where they were supposed to be (in my purse). I searched every crevice of her car and house. They were nowhere to be found. I called Jeff at 11:30 at night to tell him to look for my keys in New Albany. (in typical Jeff fashion, he said he was asleep and it could wait til morning). This morning I woke up and called New Albany; they had not found the keys. I again searched the house, every bag, nook and cranny. The keys were nowhere to be found. As I began looking up the numbers to locksmiths, I kept saying to myself: "The valet key is in the car. Seriously, it would take JD five minutes to open the car and solve this whole dilemma!" I can't tell you how many times Jonathan let me into my car. In fact, Jonathan and his little car entry thingy that he picked up on the side of the road on the way to Illinois became legendary at MC. He would get calls from friends of friends of friends asking if he would come let them into their car. He always did. I was with him once; he walked up to a fretful girl who he had never seen or heard of, said: "Hey. I'm Jonathan," and began to try to jimmy her door open. We laughed about it all night. The best was when the girl awkwardly tried to pay him.
After three hours of looking, I finally found my keys out on the driveway where I had dropped them accidently three days ago. In my head I could hear the sound of JD laughing with/at me as he always did when I had a Crewslike moment. I wonder if I'll ever have a morning like today and not think first of Jonathan. In a way, I hope not. After all was said and done, it felt good to hear Jonathan laugh again (even if it was just in my head).
-Elizabeth Crews
So this is a picture of Craig Robinson (Darryl from "The Office") and I near the shuk (market) in Jerusalem. Rhonda and I just happened to bump into him in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (supposedly built on the place where Christ was crucified). He was pretty much wandering the city aimlessly after ditching his traveling pals in the underground tunnels in the City of David. We walked him through the church and down the Via Dolorosa. We enjoyed some hummus and sodas and chatted for awhile.
