For months, there were the hints on a social network site.
Something wasn’t right.
Then again, if you know Jaime Kaplan, well, you know something isn’t right. Shes goofy, organized, sarcastic, helpful, social, hard working, funny, focused, involved, selfless and loyal.
That’s Jaime, and she ain’t right. She’ll tell you that you’re not right, but come on. All those traits, and Jaime’s the one who’s out there,”because so few people, especially in Macon, have such a collection that’s on display 24/7.
Sure, she’s well aware of the word “no,” make no mistake.
“No, I’ll be there at 12, not 1.”
“No, I want more than five names for the charity, let’s get 20.”
“No, I can do more.” “No, we can raise more.”
And now, in a staggering “Are you kidding me, really?” turn in life’s events, she has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia
Really?
Here’s the thing: Everything’s wrong, nothing’s wrong.
Last week, she was told after a checkup that she wouldn’t be admitted for anything that day. Her excitement grew because that meant she would be able to hear friend and local musical talent Molly Stevens play at a local restaurant.
Man, her Facebook entry was all caps and exclamation points. And, of course, if you’ve heard Molly, you know that getting another chance to hear her is a very good thing.
There were maybe 10 people at the table at any given time, and people kept popping over for a hug and an “Attagirl, go get it”.
Jaime actually kept quiet for a sustained period of time — quite atypical, especially when she’s in the middle of a group — to listen to a song dedicated by Molly.
I don’t know where this is taking me
I don’t know where to go
I’m just following what’s inside of me
I’m just doing what I know
I’m just trying to survive
On this long and winding road
And Jaime, as she did a few times that night, got a little misty-eyed.
Again, here’s the thing.
She’s still Jaime.
She didn’t miss coaching Stratford to a pair of GISA state tennis titles. The hug felt the same, the twinkle in the eye is as bright as normal, the giggle hadn’t changed, and we laughed at her Georgia Sports Hall of Fame induction weekend a few years ago and how broadcast legend Larry Munson was a flirting machine and promised to return to the ceremony next year because then, he really was gonna catch Jaime.
Sorry, Larry, you’re not catching her, and it’s a pretty safe bet that AML will come up short, too.
How many different kinds of good that is — and so far, knock wood, everything is going as good as it can go — tends to test the entries for “good” in your closest thesaurus.
Jaime and I playfully go around on a variety of topics, because we both want Macon to get better, want Maconites to take advantage of what’s here and aspire to more.
I’ve always maintained that if the region ever could get its act together as a team — and I won the lottery to get the seed money going — that Jaime would be my first choice as commissioner/boss/czar/general of the Middle Georgia Sports Commission.
She knows sports. She knows organization. She knows planning. She knows Macon, Bibb County and Middle Georgia. She knows people, figuratively and literally.
Me, I’d like a peek at the who’s who in her cell phone numbers.
And she cares. In a world of name-calling and gutless anonymous web-comment authors and on a planet living the Toby Keith song “I Wanna Talk About Me,” we have the opposite roaming local tennis courts and schools.
The human body is, to paraphrase, often God’s Rubik’s Cube. Indeed, if it were so simple, people would live to be 300 years old, and boy, we don’t need more of what we have.
Except in this case.
We don’t have many Jaime Kaplans, in Macon or anywhere else, and now something has cropped up that could interrupt the very important need for her to live to, oh, about 93.
But Jaime is strong, frisky, stubborn and energetic and leads a team of supporters that grows by the day. Her mantra is “beat leukemia.”
I know who my money’s on.
Contact Michael A. Lough at mlough@macon.com or 744-4626
