Saturday, January 24, 2026
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A short tribute to the bestest of friends—My lifelong friend just left this earthly world to express Life in ways we have yet to understand. Jeb or Jebby as I knew her for over 70 years, made her mark in the world as Jessica Swaim. But for me, she will always be the petite, silver haired best buddy nicknamed Jebby who lived only a few houses down the street. They called us Mutt and Jeff. I was Mutt, the tall lanky and often clumsy one in the friendship. Our childhood adventures really require a book to convey all the fun and adventures, both real and imaginary, that we had growing up. Whether it was exploring our Old First Methodist Church in Sedalia, MO, where we found the most sacred Small Prayer Room, or hanging out at the Yunker-Liehman Drugstore and Soda Fountain after Church, where Mom and Dad Brown treated us to something yummy and always a comic book.
When it rained, we played inside with miniature porcelain animals or challenged each other to a game of Candy Land. Our real love though was time outdoors where we roamed the entire neighborhood with abandon and never fear. There was one time when set up our Lemonade stand with cups and small bottles for hot and thirsty travelers to purchase. A quite inebriated member of the Missouri State Fair carnival stopped by and wanted a sip from one of the small bottles we had in the stand. We quickly gave it to him, and he continued staggering on up the street. That day, we did run back home to report the incident. But it mostly served as a good laugh for all of us! Most days we made up our own exciting escapades. That is until we heard the sharp penetrating whistle her Dad used to tell us to come home. When the whistle blew, we knew we had better yell, “Coming!” And not hesitate one moment as we raced each other, and often her brother Bill and friend Don, back to our homes.
Some of our favorite times were shared at 4433 Leprechaun Avenue—An amazing shed behind my house that my Dad originally built for tools but ended up almost totally dedicated as our play space. Spend-the-nights in the shed with kerosene lanterns (Yes, we actually used those for light) helped us stay in touch with the Irish leprechauns and fairies. Our adventures at “Prickly Palace” The Missouri State Fairgrounds, the golf ball incident, and the underground club house, are for another day, but it is safe to say, they allowed two best buddies to max out their imaginations.
I will forever be grateful that God blessed me with Jeb as a childhood friend. Much of who I am today is directly due to those whimsical times growing up in a world of imagination minus fear! I can think of no better time for us to say goodbye as we had just concluded sharing in our annual Mount Vernon Advent Calendar. We would spend all year collecting small treasures to put behind the wooden calendar doors. Often the treasures Jeb sent were hand made, making them even more special. Then, daily throughout December we would make a short i-Phone video as we opened and discovered the little gifts within. More importantly, SHE was the gift—for there is no treasure greater than the gift of family and friendship. I miss you Jeb!
