Reconnecting With My Compadre, Jaime

The “friend” request came on Facebook. For a moment, the name didn’t look familiar: Jaime Leòn Vàsquez. I get a lot of random requests from people I have no connection, which I decline. Then it hit me. Jaime! He worked for me for nearly a decade, toiling nearly every weekend at whatever house I owned at the time, in Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Longview. He was a skilled painter and handyman, familiar with cattle and fence mending, and basically did whatever needed to be done — cheerfully and efficiently. As he said, “Lo que.” Whatever. I first met Jaime in the spring of 2000, when...

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