Jim Tipton has died.

I'm surprised this hasn't been noted here yet. Jim was a damn fine poet and a damn fine resident.
Here is a fine tribute. The Bee Keeper

Didn’t have the pleasure of meeting him. He must have been quite special from what I have heard.

I did not know him but I believe he was the author of several articles that I read. How old was he?

That is one of the problems down here. I can find very few things wrong with the home (Lake Chapala) I love. One big problem is, like with any retirement community, we loose too many friends from old age.

I agree, Pete, and we're losing the old timers. I hate that.

RIP Jim Tipton, you were loved by many.

RIP Jim Tipton. Loved by many.

What's even sadder than losing friends to old age is losing them to disease. Three friends; one to brain cancer; another to colon cancer recently and one doomed to go soon. None of them old enough to die.

Here is the quintessential Jim reading a poem from his latest (and sadly last) volume of poetry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5efEDBf8hs&feature=youtu.be

What a great loss not just for the Lakeside community but for the world in general and the special world of poetry in particular.

I feel so fortunate to have hung out with Jim on several occasions, and above all to have heard him read and to have read his poems while living at Lake Chapala.

Jim was not just incredibly erudite yet humble but also always outgoing and supportive of lesser writers (which given his talents meant just about anyone). He could be stunningly bawdy and erotic in one moment, pure Rumi-esque spirituality in the next - if there were ever a poet who insisted that heaven come alive on earth it was Jim. A great poet and a kind man.

Here's one of his poems. He loved Mexico and loved life with such passion and tenderness. He leaves a void which won't be filled.

"Eating the World

I was born with my mouth open...
entering this juicy world
of peaches and lemons and ripe sun
and the pink and secret flesh of women,
this world where dinner is in the breath
of the subtle desert,
in the spices of the distant sea
which late at night drift over sleep.

I was born somewhere between
the brain and the pomegranate,
with a tongue tasting the delicious textures
of hair and hands and eyes;
I was born out of the heart stew,
out of the infinite bed, to walk upon
this infinite earth.

I want to feed you the flowers of ice
on this winter window,
the aromas of many soups,
the scent of sacred candles
that follows me around this cedar house,
I want to feed you the lavender
that lifts up out of certain poems,
and the cinnamon of apples baking,
and the simple joy we see
in the sky when we fall in love.

I want to feed you the pungent soil
where I harvested garlic,
I want to feed you the memories
rising out of the aspen logs
when I split them, and the pinyon smoke
that gathers around the house on a still night,
and the mums left by the kitchen door.

I want to feed you the colors of rain
on deserted parking lots,
and the folds of delirious patchouli
in the Indian skirt of the woman
on Market Street in San Francisco,
and the human incense of so much devotion
in tiny villages in Colorado and Peru.

I want to serve you breakfast at dawn,
I want to serve you the bread
that rises in the desert dust, serve you
the wind that wanders through the canyons,
serve you the stars that fall over the bed,
serve you the Hopi corn one thousand years old,
serve you the saffron in the western sunset,
serve you the delicate pollen that blows its lullaby
through each lonely wing of flesh;
I want to serve you the low hum of bees
clustered together all winter
eating their honey.

--James Tipton"

I am sorry to ask this again after reading that beautiful poem, but about how old was he, when he left this world? Thanks in advance.

MexicoPete wrote:I am sorry to ask this again after reading that beautiful poem, but about how old was he, when he left this world? Thanks in advance.

Pete
Death has no age prerequisite. Knowing his reputation and the love and admiration so many had for him, I doubt if it matters.

MexicoPete wrote:I am sorry to ask this again after reading that beautiful poem, but about how old was he, when he left this world? Thanks in advance.

The Guadalajara Reporter says he was 76. http://theguadalajarareporter.net/index.php/featured/51845-prolific-writer-former-english-professor-beekeeper-found-poetic-solace-as-life-s-journey-wound-down
I don't understand why slainte39 would post a negative reply to your query.

slainte39 wrote:

MexicoPete wrote:I am sorry to ask this again after reading that beautiful poem, but about how old was he, when he left this world? Thanks in advance.

Pete
Death has no age prerequisite. Knowing his reputation and the love and admiration so many had for him, I doubt if it matters.

Slaimte is right. Yes Jim was 76 when he died. BUT age does not matter. He was great, no matter his age. That was a complement

DaveP wrote:

slainte39 wrote:

MexicoPete wrote:I am sorry to ask this again after reading that beautiful poem, but about how old was he, when he left this world? Thanks in advance.

Pete
Death has no age prerequisite. Knowing his reputation and the love and admiration so many had for him, I doubt if it matters.

Slaimte is right. Yes Jim was 76 when he died. BUT age does not matter. He was great, no matter his age. That was a complement

Exactly.
 Not trying to be negative, but personally didn't see why attaching a certain number to a beloved man at his death, was that important to ask twice.

I'm strange. I check my digital CFE meter daily to ensure my solar panels are working. I also check my blood pressure and heart rate daily. I am into numbers, age, you name it. That is just me.

I was afraid asking how old this great author was would anger a few. And I am sorry if I did offend anyone. Oh and Slainte, I believe you were born in 1939.

1939 was a great year... I was my folks answer to the invasion of Poland...

"Oh and Slainte, I believe you were born in 1939."
JAJAJAJA

MexicoPete wrote:I'm strange. I check my digital CFE meter daily to ensure my solar panels are working. I also check my blood pressure and heart rate daily. I am into numbers, age, you name it. That is just me.

I was afraid asking how old  this great author was would anger a few. And I am sorry if I did offend anyone. Oh and Slainte, I believe you were born in 1939.

You only remember because you were born the same year........ ......and don't you predate me by a couple of months, Viejito??? 

Pete and I have been good friends and known each other a long time.  What I said in the post I would have said to him face to face, if he were here.

Pete knows me and where I was coming from.
NO ANGER HERE!!!!

"I am into numbers, age, you name it. That is just me"
Obviously, and thanks for reminding me of my age, as I often forget (or try to forget).
Just don't forget the obligatory gift that comes with each of the anniversaries that roll around that I can't remember.

Trailrunner wrote:"Oh and Slainte, I believe you were born in 1939."
JAJAJAJA

At least, when I kick the bucket, Pete won't be asking how old was he, on this forum. 

rvanparys wrote:1939 was a great year... I was my folks answer to the invasion of Poland...

Yep, the night I was born, the German tanks and troops were crossing the border into Poland.

Yes Slainte and I go way back. Look at my age shown on the left. But I am a lot younger than you. I was born on November 13th 1839.

MexicoPete wrote:Yes Slainte and I go way back. Look at my age shown on the left. But I am a lot younger than you. I was born on November 13th 1839.

November 13th????  Then that explains my advanced wisdom over you.  Age is not always bad.

Can you name the presidents of the US and Mexico, the year you were born, without looking it up?

Oh course. I have an app on my iPhone X that I can ask.  Hey wait a minute, how did you erase my app?

Martin Van Buren was President from 1837 through 1841. I simply asked Cortana on my Windows 10 Laptop. She also told me that Anastasio Bustamante y Oseguera  was president of Mexico three times, from 1830 to 1832, from 1837 to 1839 and from 1839 to 1841. He was a Conservative

I simply asked Cortana and that is what she told me. She did it verbally and in writing which I copied and pasted here for you to read.

Problem is Cortana is a friend of Mr. Bing and never talks to Mr. Google  https://2img.net/u/1615/22/11/56/smiles/223417.gif

I am disheartened that this tribute to Jim has taken a crazy, often dark, turn. Moderator, can you please disable any further comments?

DuckieHoomever wrote:I am disheartened that this tribute to Jim has taken a crazy, often dark, turn. Moderator, can you please disable any further comments?

Why? These guys were just engaging in some harmless banter. Jim might well have laughed along with them.