Date: 12/9/2008
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: The Dancing Bear
<br><br>I just returned from somewhere that I never should have been.  While I was there I heard things I never should have heard and witnessed things I never should have seen.  No, I was not in the seedy part of town, nor was I frequenting a questionable establishment or hanging out with the wrong kind of people......I just returned from the funeral of a 17 year old.  We all have our differences.....we don't always agree on politics or religion.....some prefer Coke, while others would rather have Pepsi.....some pull for the Gold, while others bleed Orange.  You could add up all the differences of mankind, but I dare say there is one thing that we would all agree on.....no one should ever have to attend the funeral of a teen-ager.  Now, I know that the thought of death is not pleasant at any age.  The Bible tells us that Methuselah died at 969 years old, and I'm quite certain that his family and friends still mourned his death and grieved at his passing.  But, there is something that just does not seem right with the death of someone whose life was really just beginning.  It is just simply not the way the equation of life is supposed to work.....you are supposed to grow up, grow old, and then die.  But unfortunately, most of us realize that life does not work that way.  There are no steadfast, set-in-concrete rules that death has to play by.  At times, it seems that death just makes up the rules as it goes along.....once you think you have them figured out, you soon realize that you don't have a clue.     <br><br><br>T.J. Lassiter was a big boy.  No, I don't mean he was a big boy in the sense that he could pull up his pants and button them or tie his own shoes.....I mean he was a BIG BOY.  I guess TJ would probably go 6'6” or 6'7” and easily tip the scales at least at 225lbs or better.  On the basketball court, TJ was quite the menacing sight.  While playing center for the HCHS Bulldogs, Mr. Lassiter was quite the force in the middle.  Opposing players knew that if they took the ball in the lane, that TJ would be there waiting for them so he could swat one of their shots with one of his big paws, or at the very minimum, make them alter their shot in someway to have to get it over his bigger than life frame.  To those who knew him though, TJ was nothing more than a big teddy bear.....a big dancing teddy bear in fact.  After one of the basketball camps this summer, the big fella was hung with the name “the dancing bear” because of the way he shuffled along and moved his feet on the court.  As Coach Puckett and Coach Smithson will tell you, in what would be his senior year, TJ was destined to be an All-District player.  Things were beginning to go well both on the court, in the classroom, and at home.  But all of that came to a tragic end this past Friday night when TJ and another young man who was just 19, were both killed in an automobile accident.  TJ had no idea that when he left J.E Sisco Gymnasium that night, that he would never step foot on the court again.  TJ scored 12 points in the final game of his life....just an hour or so before he departed for eternity.  His name was in the score column one night, and in the obituary column the next morning.....talk about life being a vapor.<br><br><br>Those who were close to the “dancing bear” say that he had his life in order spiritually....that he had a right relationship with the Lord and that they fully expect to see him in heaven when they get there.   Torrie Wims was TJ's fellow back seat passenger that fateful Friday night.  From all indications, Torrie's short 19 year life had been one of many ups and downs.....not unlike any of the rest of us.  But, (here is one that will put a smile on your face), a few weeks ago Torrie was baptized as a result of the local jail ministry.  Torrie had no doubt grown tired of the direction his life was heading and made a monumental decision to turn 180 and head in the other direction.  Torrie decided to take responsibility for his own life....both this one and the one to come.  Little did he know that he would meet this new Saviour of his so soon.....which by the way, might ought to get us to thinking.....he and TJ could be introducing us to the Lord next.    <br><br><br>Go the extra mile - Devin<br>