Who is 'Mount'?
Johnathan “Mount” Pickett February 14th, 1964 – June 28th, 2009 (click here for Mounts Bio)
Johnathan “Mount” Pickett February 14th, 1964 – July 29th, 2009
He was my oldest brother, and the oldest of five children Johnathan “Mount” Pickett exemplified characteristics that most of us can only dream and fantasize about possessing. A genuine old school throw back to the ancient era and times when men were truly men of honor, bravery, integrity, compassion, vision and humility.
Being completely aware of the fact that as human when we experience the loss of a loved one its quite easy )and sometimes outright tempting) to want to show them in a light that may sometimes be somewhat overstated as a result of our emotional state in relation to the loss.
Let me assure you however that this is not the case.
Throughout his entire life, Mount constantly and continually proved himself completely worthy of all the accolades and superlatives mentioned herein.
By the age of 10 he was gracefully taking on responsibilities that a lot of adults given the opportunity would shun. Taking care of four small children, ensuring that we all ate (which sometimes required him to prepare the meals himself), making sure we all did our homework, received and enjoyed our in-home activity, making sure we all bathed and went to bed on time. To get to school we had to walk through several different neighborhoods which living in the city of East St. Louis, Illinois always proved to be both an adventure and a challenge. Well again Mount was responsible for our safety to and fro. Although a mere 13 years old he never hesitated, not for a moment, to defend us. Yet he daily taught us how to avoid trouble and conflicts.
Again, growing up in East St. Louis we had a minimal amount of finances, to put it mildly, yet Mount taught us to focus on and appreciate all that we did have as opposed to focusing on and stressing about what we didn’t’ have. As a result we always felt blessed, fortunate and genuinely grateful.
When I began to go astray in life Mount would be among the very first to step forth with clear and stern discipline, yet always found a way to finish it up with words of hope and encouragement.
In the area of compassion was a rarity. Always making the most out of every opportunity to help and assist others in their times of need.
Always honest and optimistic, he thoroughly enjoyed family, cooking and sports.
He worked tirelessly to realize his dream of owning his own catering business. The proud father of fifteen children he played with and taught them with passion and patience, while making the time to do the same with all of his twenty-six nieces and nephews.
I would often spend hours admiring his love and patience when working with children as young as five years old guiding them through push-ups, jumping jacks, sit-ups and knew bend exercises routines. I would reminisce about how he was the same way when working with our brothers and sisters more than 35 years earlier.
Who is Mount?
Mount is love, strength, confidence, hope, compassion, optimism, motivation and enlightenment.