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2021, February 27
Saw the passing of a man, Michael Calvert Hinton
Also known as Mickey, a man of boundless mischief
Ambassador of Goodwill to those who now miss him

Beloved of his kin, his children and grandchildren
He lived a thousand lives, most of them surrounded by women
Three daughters, four sisters, more than a thousand lessons
So this is memoriam of Mickey Calvert Hinton

A teacher, father, grandfather, fish out of the river
Southern Gentleman, Kentucky-born, California livin’
Straight-up Appalachian back to his earliest roots
You can tell by the fact that his mom dad were “Curly and Boots”

Since the moment he first emerged in his birthday suit
Mickey Hinton had a world to improve, work to do
Never missed a day of school, so much energy
Mickey had a life-long inner sense of integrity

He went to Catholic school, I bet it was a lot of fun
Until his last days Mickey was not fond of nuns
The only son, a boy who was spoiled for attention
You could ask any single one of his four sisters

Look at that jawline, armed forces enlister
All American Little League All-Star Pitcher
With that curveball, slider, knuckle technique
His mama keepin’ track of every pitch, with no spreadsheet

Balls and strikes and hits, you heard Sherry-Ann
No details escaped mama Mary, and
In the Airforce, Mickey was ready to take a stand
That’s when he met Jan, at a Texas dance

Best decision of his life, is how he’d sum it up
1964, baby, the Summer of Love
Mickey and Jan, they had a beautiful start
No wonder Eskaton later called him “The King of Hearts”

He was a pilot, ready for ignition
But the Cerebellar Ataxia figured different
Any hesitation on the trigger, or with equipment
Would’ve been it, so he medically un-enlisted

Ready for a different kind of battlefield, though
All my fourth and fifth grade teachers know
And raised three strong daughters in a peaceful home
As Kim and Terri and Loree have shown

They were not even grown, when they made a change
And joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Kim was twelve and the boy she was kissin’
Was eighteen and Jan said: “Okay, we need religion”

It’s not enough to have Words with Friends, we need religion
Words with Friends, like “Mickey beat Kim Hinton”
Mickey beat Kim Hinton, but only at games
But when she kissed that boy, oy, Latter Day Saints

But first they started research shoppin’ – church hoppin’ 
The Episcopalians almost got them with donuts and coffee
But the whole family had to agree, all of them
So in the end, the Mormon Church was their callin’

And Mickey served life-long,
With a sense of courage and grace that he never lost
Natural protector of all

Like the neighbors that he lived from across
You might catch him in Lee Casentini’s garage battling moths
In his later years, he settled into Eskaton
Where he won the hearts of most, but apparently not all

Of the residents… what? That’s a very specific “but”
I want to know who his Eskaton nemesis was, y’all
I guess that’s espionage, so it’s not for me
But I know who his Eskaton angel was: Loree

For the past fifteen years, she was there for him
Taking care of him, like an angelic cherubim
At Eskaton, through thick and thin, summer, winter
Calling bingo, Loree is like her dad, a giver

Even jobs that most people can’t stand
Loree held his hand through a fecal transplant
When he had C. difficile – muy dificile
But hey, that’s the way, the Hinton’s keep it real

And maybe saying “fecal transplant” is not appropriate
At events like this, solemn and in memorial
But “fecal transplant” is a metaphor too
A metaphor for removing hackers from Zoom

For taking the poison in life and making smiles of it
Turning moments of ugliness straight back into loving
And that was Mickey, a better man than me
He would never wish calamity on hacker creeps

And picture them elaborately in dying tragic accidents
He would just wish them more fulfilling paths to happiness
That’s what Mickey found in his life, his own bliss
The epicenter of a universe of love – you know this

You, in this zoom, in this room his love legacy
Even to the last, full of positive energy
He brought this group together to share his memory
With stories, and sermons, and rap, and… some levity

2021, February 27
Saw the passing of a man, Michael Calvert Hinton
Also known as Mickey, a man of boundless mischief
Ambassador of Goodwill to those who now miss him

Beloved of his kin, his children and grandchildren
He lived a thousand lives, most of them surrounded by women
Three daughters, four sisters, more than a thousand lessons
So this is memoriam of Mickey Calvert Hinton