That's right - his seat.
You can see the metal nameplate peeking out behind him.
Good seat, too, right behind homeplate, up high enough in the bleachers to catch a nice breeze from the overhead fans on a hot summer night at the Sand Gnats' games.
He and Willie Smith, Jr., have been such faithful fans of Savannah baseball that they were rewarded with permanent seats there at the historic landmark.
This morning, Mister Willie spoke at Arthur's funeral.
Willie had called me on Thursday. Arthur's granddaughter, Jennifer, had just called him to tell him Arthur had died. So, as I usually share the space on those wooden bleachers with these two old men, Willie called me to share the sad news.
The Savannah newspaper didn't even have the obituary yet. The funeral notice didn't appear in the paper until yesterday.
That didn't give folks much time to arrange to be at the 11:00 AM funeral on a Saturday morning, this close to Christmas.
Even so, the church was full.
Arthur was that loved by all who knew him.
How very sad that he is gone.
I will miss his ready smile and easy-going sense of humor.
I do hope Jennifer will still make use of his seat this coming season.
Otherwise, it will be a constant reminder of the loss of this good man.
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