“Uncle Jimmy”

I first encountered Uncle Jimmy one early morning at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Mississippi. I was heading to an old pickup truck I wanted to photograph in the morning sunlight. I noticed this grizzled gentleman walking, somewhat aimlessly, out of one of the cabins. I offered a casual “G'morning.” He replied with an emphatic “Midgets is dangerous!” Well, I couldn’t let that go so I approached and asked what he meant. “Midgets is dangerous! They came into my room last night and cut my hair!” Uncle Jimmy pointed to the top of his head to prove his point. “Does this happen often?” I asked. He didn’t seem to hear me but instead pulled up the sleeve of his old sweatshirt and pointed to a spot on his arm. “And see this? Right here! Vampires! A vampire bit me right here!” Needless to say I was rattled.

I fumbled to get my camera turned on and set properly. “Would you mind if I took a photo?” Without an answer Uncle Jimmy threw back his head and spread his arms as if to say “Start shooting!” I took a couple of shots and he seemed to be growing more agitated. I excused myself to join my brother-in-law, Steve, whom I saw going into the lobby area of the Shack Up. Steve was getting some coffee and I told him about my very strange encounter. “Let’s go see if he’s still around.” he suggested. We walked back to the area and found One-eyed Scotty and his dad loading their luggage into their SUV. We had met One-eyed Scotty (our nickname for him, and a whole other story) at the Hambone blues club the night before.

“Did you happen to see an old man wandering around here?” I asked One-eyed. “Oh, that’s my Uncle Jimmy. He’s schizophrenic.” He said Uncle Jimmy had an issue with some small people that lived near them in Memphis and imagines strange things about them. Steve and I made small talk briefly with One-eyed and his dad but didn’t see Uncle Jimmy again.

I was sure I hadn’t gotten a decent shot of Jimmy since I was so unhinged by him. I only had two shots but they were both in focus and the camera settings right for the morning light. While doing this painting of Uncle Jimmy I could almost feel the chaos in his head. What a tormented life he must live suffering with an affliction like schizophrenia. His expression seemed pleaful. I hope this painting conveys the bewilderment and empathy I felt reflecting back on my short time with Uncle Jimmy.

As you can see, I substituted the background in the painting with a photo I had taken just before running into Uncle Jimmy.