Jim in Warming Hut Contributed on March 12, 2010 | View Photo
Cross Country outing with the Quons and Crosses Contributed on March 12, 2010 | View Photo
Jim and Danny Contributed on March 12, 2010 | View Photo
Jim and The Quons hit the trail Contributed on March 12, 2010 | View Photo
Jim and The Quons at Cafe Sintra Contributed on March 12, 2010 | View Photo
Jim's Book Contributed on November 12, 2009 | View Photo
Jim and mother dear Contributed on March 22, 2009 | View Photo
Floating the River Contributed on March 22, 2009 | View Photo
Sad reminder Contributed on March 22, 2009 | View Photo
SLO Contributed on March 22, 2009 | View Photo
Tom, Jim and Donell Contributed on March 22, 2009 | View Photo
Grimace Contributed on March 22, 2009 | View Photo
Rafting the Trinity Contributed on March 22, 2009 | View Photo
Jim & Tom Contributed on March 22, 2009 | View Photo
Jim on Broken Top Contributed on February 17, 2009 | View Photo
Me and Jim on the Tumalo Scramble Contributed on February 17, 2009 | View Photo
Jim and Keven on a fishing trip Contributed on February 17, 2009 | View Photo
Get the puck outta here! Contributed on December 18, 2008 | View Photo
Jim with Vic in Hawaii Contributed on December 16, 2008 | View Photo
Aloha Jim Contributed on December 16, 2008 | View Photo
Fishing Hat Transfer Contributed on December 16, 2008 | View Photo
Big shorts, little fish Contributed on December 16, 2008 | View Photo
Big Fish Contributed on December 16, 2008 | View Photo
Jim sneaks a kiss Contributed on November 30, 2008 | View Photo
Rafting Contributed on November 30, 2008 | View Photo
Are We Not Men? Contributed on November 30, 2008 | View Photo
Pumped Up Contributed on November 24, 2008 | View Photo
Brokeback Mountain?? Contributed on November 24, 2008 | View Photo
Jim at Cemetery Contributed on November 24, 2008 | View Photo
Jim and his Pontoon Contributed on November 24, 2008 | View Photo
Ready to Roll Contributed on November 24, 2008 | View Photo
John & Jim Contributed on November 24, 2008 | View Photo
Jim in Ennis Contributed on November 24, 2008 | View Photo
The "kids" Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Kev, Donell, Jim & Danny Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Witty Family Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Early Witty Portrait Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Santa Baby Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Fisher Jim Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Hawaiian Kiss Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Off To Kona Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Extended family Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Me & Jim Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Mark Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
New Grandaughter! Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Aloha Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Witty Music Night Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Camping Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
John, Edna and Jim Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Salvation Jim Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim with Kelly & Walt Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Vic, Keven and Jim Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Tommy Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Witty's with my parents Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Mark & Jim Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Lor Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Lor Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Keven Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Hawaian Daze Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Kev Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Joan Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Mark play guitar Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Hippie Jim Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Donell Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Danny Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & John Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim at SLO Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Wedding Reception Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Music Room Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Hippie Jimmy Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Eureka! Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Fly Fishing Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Lor Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim with Catch Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Lori Wedding Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Lor Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Kelly Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Bertha Sue Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Kev Jammin' Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Hawaii Days Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Hawaii Days Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Camping Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
J&D Cal Arts Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Witty's & Quons Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Christmas Eve Dinner Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Christmas Tree Slayers Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Ken's Club gig Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Bike Rodeo Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Finally! Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim in Idaho Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim Sinking Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim Makes a Call Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim and GPS Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Witty Clan Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Lor Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Best Man Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Jim & Lor wedding dance Contributed on November 23, 2008 | View Photo
Two years pass and I still can't believe you're gone...
Contributed on November 16, 2010 | View Comment
Classic Witty pose.
Contributed on November 16, 2010 | View Comment
The Quons love and miss you Jim.
Contributed on November 16, 2010 | View Comment
Jim, if only you could see your Danny now. he's taller than me!
Contributed on November 16, 2010 | View Comment
Look how young my kids are! Jim wrote an article about this Outing.
Contributed on November 16, 2010 | View Comment
Memory: Jim had bought this new pontoon boat and assembled it incorrectly. He was about fifty yards offshore when the whole thing collapsed into itself and he went right in the drink! John and I had a good laugh at Jim's expense.
Contributed on June 18, 2010 | View Comment
I can hear his booming laugh. You're so right about the tongue thing!
Contributed on February 8, 2009 | View Comment
Great photo Donell. He loved those boys!
Contributed on January 11, 2009 | View Comment
Happy times. "Manlove" for sure! God Dammit Witty, I miss you!
Contributed on December 11, 2008 | View Comment
... Keven by his side, and you forgot the beer at his feet!
Contributed on December 11, 2008 | View Comment
The late Bernie Mac died in August at age 50 from heart failure. His granddaughter's name is Jasmine.
Contributed on December 10, 2008 | View Comment
I opened up an old unknown logo file called "JG logo.eps" It was a logo for a very old client: Jasmine's Garden
Contributed on December 4, 2008 | View Comment
... wine with a hint of Jasmine...
Contributed on December 4, 2008 | View Comment
We picked up your old photos on Jasmine St.
Contributed on November 29, 2008 | View Comment
Summer breeze makes me feel fine Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind
Contributed on November 29, 2008 | View Comment
I was dreaming of a steel guitar engagement When you drink my health in scented jasmine tea
Contributed on November 29, 2008 | View Comment
This was a truly surreal outing we took to Haystack Reservoir. The snow was deep and the reservoir was frozen over with light snow swirling on the surface. It looked like you were looking down on planet Earth from space.
Contributed on November 25, 2008 | View Comment
Jim felt so bad for Danny here. We drove for miles up a winding mountain road near Chalis, ID looking for this lake for Danny to fish. We never found it and had to turn back because of time. We found out later that the lake was only another half mile down the road. Jim loved his sons so much.
Contributed on November 25, 2008 | View Comment
We were such Bevis & Buttheads here. We kept laughing about the sign into town... "Entering Ennis." I believe Ennis was the name of one of the Brokeback Mountain characters.
Contributed on November 25, 2008 | View Comment
Jim slayed a lot of trout that day... it didn't start off well. He assembled his new pontoon boat wrong, got about 100 yards off shore and the thing "exploded," dumping him in the water with pontoon boat parts flosting all around him. John and I had a good laugh at his expense.
Contributed on November 25, 2008 | View Comment
He was SO excited... getting married to Lori and singing to her in front of everyone.
Contributed on November 25, 2008 | View Comment
Mark has not contributed any videos yet.
Mark has not contributed any video comments yet.
Friend
Think of you every day I step outside, step into a brew pub or pick up a guitar. Two years gone on this infamous day, November 17. Hope to see you on the other side my friend!Friend
I found some photos of Jim while I was sorting my pictures, so here they are in honor of his birthday.Friend
Hey Jim, rest easy. The Badlands Wilderness bill passed and Obama has signed it into law. The country of your affection has been preserved and I'll always feel your presence when I walk the Badlands.
Friend
This poem was written for Jim by my friend Randy. Thank you Randy for your kind words: Oh, what a human being. Infectious laugh, Scruffy beard. See over the next hill, gotta see. The hill, the urge described, For all… Creation and grace. That eye glint, that smile, Turn of phrase Heart embedded words… Poetry and funny magic. A husband, a dad, A son, a friend. Unique, unforgettable and precious. Oh, what a human being.
Friend
I dreamed of Jim last night. We were at an outdoor concert, walking around the crowd. He asked me "what happened?" and I said, "you don't know?" "My mom said something about my stomach." "Jim, you had a heart attack," I cried. "Oh," he said, and then he was gone.Friend
You knew Jim Witty. Even if you never met the man, you knew him. If you have hiked the Badlands or river trails, you knew him. If you have fly fished the lower Deschutes or explored the Steens mountains, you knew him. Jim was the outdoors writer for The Bulletin. He wrote about the great outdoors, the well known, and not so well known locations around Central Oregon. So whenever I took a hike or cast a line I always thought of Jim. His writings will be sorely missed. Jim died Monday morning at the young age of 50. He was not my friend. He was my best friend. And you knew him. He was the guy who struck up a conversation with you at the bar. He was the guy who turned the negative conversation to positive. And he was the guy who got way too excited about sage and juniper. Jim was not an expert outdoorsman by any means. I would always kid him about getting us lost half of the time. He rarely used a map. I got the feeling he wanted to get lost. But when he wrote about his outings, you could sense his passion for the outdoors. He had a writing style that made you crave Central Oregon. He loved that seemingly barren desert to the east. He had an affinity for the Badlands. I would accompany him on many outings and he would be moved by the most basic scrub on the ground. Something you or I would simply walk over. After reading a write up from one of our particularly “ordinary” outings, I had to wonder, “was I even there?” Jim’s other passion was the written word. Combining nature with writing was a dream job. He was born to be a journalist. When Jim was 11 years old, he and another childhood friend named Tom started their own neighborhood “newspaper” called The Kanola Progress. They produced the paper in Jim’s garage. Conflict arose when another venture of theirs became more profitable than the paper. Inspired by a carnival game they saw at the fair, they set up a similar game. When it proved to be more of a moneymaker, Tom wanted to focus on the game. Jim’s passion was the paper. Jim became sole owner of The Kanola Progress. We met as freshman in high school with a common love of music. The words and albums of David Bowie brought us together. We memorized the lyrics to every song. Anticipated every new album. Emulated the rooster hair cut. Although he moved around quite a bit, we always kept in touch. I had come up over the years to visit Jim in Bend. When Jim married Lori, my wife Linda and I came up from Southern California for the wedding. Three months later, we were in escrow on a house in Bend. I can’t say we moved here to be near him. That was a perk. But we never would have moved to Bend WITHOUT him. It was the best move of our lives. I saw Jim just last Friday. We met some friends at Silver Moon for beer and then headed over to my house to play guitars. He stopped to pick up a pizza and called to let me know it was taking a while. He said he’d be there shortly and then signed off with “OK, love y....” He caught himself and stopped short. I hung up the phone. Did Jim just tell me he loved me? We laughed about it later. He was so used to ending his phone conversations with his wife Lori by saying, “love you.” But he did love me and I loved him. Lori jokingly referred to our relationship as “manlove.” So be it. As friends, we were soul mates. We played guitars and sang songs until midnight. Since we had other guests, I liked to pause between songs for conversation. I could see Jim bouncing with his guitar. He wanted none of that. “How about that Neil Young song we do?” Playing music was the ONLY time Jim had no patience for conversation. On the morning Jim died, I helped clean his house in preparation for the arrival of Lori’s mother from Baltimore. Jim had converted his garage into a living space dedicated to music. Posters and albums cover the walls. Jackson Browne. James Taylor. Johnny Cash. Guitars sat on guitar stands. Couches and chairs set up for the listeners. We jammed in this room. We scrawled our set list on the wall. He was proud of this room. As I was vacuuming the carpet, the strangeness of the situation hit me. I kept thinking what Jim would say. He would be chuckling. “Mark! What the hell are you doing? I just DIED! I know Jim. I know.
Contributed on November 16, 2010 | View Comment