Mass for Jim King

Yesterday at 11:00 am, Paul and I met in the library parking lot, and then walked together to Holy Cross Church to attend a Wednesday Mass for our friend, Jim King.

The presiding pastor's sermon zoomed in on one word, JUSTICE, to describe the life and work of James Moore King (July 30, 1943-November 11, 2017). Jim was one of those lawyers who seeks justice in the courtroom, as a way of life, as a whole. His sense of justice was for a vision of peace on earth. That’s what Jim was: thirsty for justice. That’s the way Jim lived his life.

The pastor also pointed out that justice, death, and freedom were a metaphor for human relationship, moving to the life of other people. He emphasized listening, truly listening, and genuinely listening, which enables human relationships. He also stated that Death could also be served as a bond for bringing people together, for there was someone more important for the time being. It was a one on one relationship.

After the mass, the King family invited all guests to a lunch in the Church Hall. The immediate family focused on the quarter century marriage between Jim and Sharon, whereas his long time friend Bernard recalled a series of worthy and mutual causes shared by himself and Jim. Together they won remarkable cases with local governments. To them, winning was not all about money, but the principle.

I did not stay to the end of lunch, due to many office tasks awaiting me. On my walk back, I could not help but recall the first time I saw Jim King one spring Friday evening in 1989. Dr. Vivian Sobchack brought both Jim and Paul to Porter College to see an ongoing art exhibit there. Jim was very witty with his slightly tipsy pink face and sparking eyes, which never dimmed hence. Jim relished reading the local newspaper Santa Cruz Sentinel, and never missed anything. If Paul and I happened to have a piece in it that day, he would invariably make a point that we had been noticed, when we chanced to meet him downtown. We never got to see Jim regularly ever since he sold his house on the West Side, and eventually moved out of Santa Cruz to Arcata.

During the lunch, his younger stepson talked about his initial sternness as a stepfather. Such sternness was apparently transformed into a gentle reminder whenever he saw Nick, "Stay with school, as long as you can."