Kinchloe

There's a lot I know about you that you don't know I know, too, Kinch.

Like how you sign your name "James" on letters to your dad and brothers and older sister and your uncle, but "Jamie" to your mom and grandmother and your kid sister, and "Ivan" to a couple of your high school teachers. I guess your middle name was your way of experimenting or standing out in high school.

I see how you meticulously take care of your things —everything from your socks to your books to your razor blade to your baseball gets cleaned and put away in its place.

I see how you track every conversation happening around you without ever moving your head. If your ears could rotate, they probably would because you never miss a thing.

I see how you always take notes. You're always jotting down details that might be important later.

I see how you keep LeBeau grounded by speaking French with him. It's like you have a sixth sense about when he just needs to hear his language spoken.

I've noticed you've got sophisticated tastes. Not just in food, though you are the only guy besides LeBeau who can pronounce bouillabaisse, and also the only one who knows what a rouille or Provençal anything is. You also know your Beethoven, Bach and Brahms as well as you know your big band, blues and bebop.

I notice how just your hand on his shoulder is enough to calm Newkirk down when he's about to fly off the handle again, and how he can actually hear it when you quirk an eyebrow at him.

I've seen how much you like the ladies, starting with that first time we met Tiger, and also how you put the brakes on any outward expression of any lust you may feel. Damn, I wish I had your self-control.

Having said that, I have definitely seen you charm a lady right into your arms, starting with that gorgeous Carol Dukes in Paris. You deserved that, Kinch.

I've seen you groom that mustache of yours with the same care and precision you bring to your work.

I've seen you throw a punch in the boxing ring, and I've seen you hold punches back literally everywhere else. It takes a strong man not to use his physical strength when it would be so satisfying to do so.

When I look at you, I see a confident strength of spirit. I see a man who knows who he is and where he's going. And I see a man I'd trust with my life.