James Taylor Hutchisson spent most of his time on his deathbed sharing his last words of wisdom with my younger brother and I.

After 93 years, he had an encyclopedia of romantic memories, war stories, and spiritual journeys. Needless to say, the world has changed drastically throughout the span of his life.

Even some of his stories began to change as he began to lose his mind.

But the stories share a lot of wisdom and should live on even if my grandfather is no longer with us. I feel it is my duty to share those stories, moreover the sermons from an unlikely spiritual advisor, and show the world the optimism, hilarity, and intelligence of the late James T. Hutchisson.

1. “Every cent is a dollar and every dollar is a cent.”

The life of James T. Hutchisson can most accurately be described as the Virginia equivalent of Mad Men—that is without the daytime boozing, blatant sexism, and lavish lifestyle.

He had a number of jobs during his 93 years, but he was most passionate about his job as an ad-man. In other words, he was hired by an advertising agency to take accounts out to dinner, or a vivacious night in town, and persuade them to sign with the agency to market their product.

One can imagine the craftiness and charm it took to fulfill the job’s requirements.

It was safe to say that the man earned every dollar he made, which allowed him to spend it however he wanted. Sometimes he would come home with a new set of golf clubs strapped around his shoulders, or a fancy piece of jewelry hidden behind his back, but that was only when he had a moment of weakness.

Most of the time, he put all his money back in the bank. He preached this idea called “the golden mean”. He’d always tell my pops, “Remember Jimmy, every cent is a dollar and every dollar is a cent. Don’t spend more than you have, but spend enough to have a good time. It’s all within the golden mean, Jimmy.”

2. A Baller's Mindset

The Phoenix Suns were playing the San Antonio Spurs, and even though my grandfather couldn’t really see or hear the television, he didn’t have any trouble trying to explain the game of basketball. Apparently, James T. Hutchisson was a swift and speedy point guard during his school days in Asheville, North Carolina.

“You see. I saw the court as a chess board.” He remarked, “And in order to get the other team’s king, you have to plot out the move before you pick up the pieces.”

It’s safe to say he took this strategy into sales, war, and probably marriage too. It’s also safe to say that my grandfather taught me the game of basketball during that forgettable match playing on the television, and further brainwashed the love of the game in my naïve middle-school brain.

3. Eye in the Sky

Way back when the draft was still a thing, my grandfather became one of the many young American patriots to valiantly fight the Japanese during WWII.

The year he spent defending America at his post in the Aleutian Islands, he met many great comrades while also witnessing their departures from this world.

As a matter of fact, the power of observation became his tool in helping end the war, as he was eventually posted at the top of the tower and told to radio the sergeants when an enemy plane or ship was approaching the island. He was the eye in the sky—kind of like the night nurse checking on her sleeping patients. He was always watching out for those he loved. And he carried that characteristic onto his married life, his career, and eventually fatherhood.

Until the day he lay his fighting boots at the end of the bed and crawled into a comfortable coma, which would not seize until he arrived will all the other lost loved ones watching out from above, or shall I say, the other eyes in the sky.

4. The Catheter Sermon

Upon his deathbed, my grandfather thought it’d be informational to explain how his old, decrepit body was relieving himself without a passage to the bathroom. The miraculous mechanism he was so astounded by was a catheter, and he vividly described its unwelcome attachment to his genitals, even though his excitement was not shared by my brother and me.

Nevertheless, laughs were shared and my grandfather left the two of us with another sage piece of advice: “Work it till it doesn't work no more.”

5. The Beauty Queen from Mississippi

It’s safe to say that this 93-ear-old advertising agent had a way with words, especially when it came to beautiful women.

Decades ago my grandfather met a beauty queen named Mary Kealhofer whose family were German merchants that settled in Mississippi.

The name of ever so many duchesses and princesses, Mary, she was a beauty queen. She was in beauty pageants all the way up until my smooth operating grandfather walked into the back of the showroom with a bundle of roses just before he swept her off her feet, and never put her down until they had their own house, a little kid-genius that became my father, and a wife that truly optimized that definition of a southern belle.

I remember asking my grandfather, in between his chivalrous compliments to the pretty nurse feeding him applesauce, “What was it that made you fall in love with grandmother?” He clasped his hands as if he were getting ready for a smooth jazz drum solo and said, “It’s all in the eyes, my grandson. If you find yourself swimming in pool of deep blue eyes, you keep swimming until those doggy paddles turn into butterflies.”

5. A Midnight Drive to Richmond

After my grandfather was released from the Army, and before he met my grandmother, he worked a job as a cab driver in Washington D.C. A plethora of stories derived from this point of his life, but there was only one that I can remember. Thankfully, it was the most entertaining one. The story began at the end of my grandfather’s shift. It was almost midnight and the light at the top of the Washington Monument had turned on for pilots and pedestrians to notice this nation’s historical treasure.

My grandfather could surely see the light from his route near the Smithsonian. He could also see the deranged man waving his arms at him from the sidewalk. Restless and ready to go home my grandfather almost did not pick up the passenger, but sure enough, he pulled the taxi over and opened the door to the stranger. It turns out the stranger had a pistol, and he intended to blow my grandfather’s brains out.

He held to the back of his skull and said, “Richmond. Start driving.” Now, obviously my grandfather didn’t die or I wouldn’t be telling you this story.

However, that man never moved the pistol from the driver’s head until two hours later when they reached Richmond. They had gotten all the way to Richmond and there was still no destination. It was then that my grandfather said something along the lines, “Hey guy, there’s a lot of great churches here… great architecture.”

And despite the complaints, my grandfather distracted him until they reached a church. Where he parked and said, “Hey guy, I’m a veteran you know.” Catching the delusional man’s attention, he continued, “I’ve seen a lot of men lose their lives at the most random of moments. I think it’d be a shame… for you and for them really… to uh you know to do the honors yourself. You know?”

And apparently the delusional passenger did know because without saying anything or paying a single cent for the ride, he ended his journey to Richmond by walking into that church. My grandfather said he could hear the church bells ringing as he left the city. According to him, that was God saying thank you.

With that being said, all I have to say is thank you. Thank you, grandfather, for the wisdom in your stories. I hope you’re with the other eyes in the skies and you reconnect with the traveler from Richmond.

I hope the church bells ring every hour in Heaven and the light from Washington’s monument still reaches you. I hope that you are with grandmother and that she still wears her pageant dresses.

Whether on Facebook or by mouth, I hope your stories are shared and these words reach you somehow.

Love,

Your grandson Sam.