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Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 3140
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 03:24 pm: | 
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Posted on Thu, Dec. 14, 2006email thisprint thisreprint or license this
Relatives fondly recall man shot to death over warm beer
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - "Hot Lead for Warm Beer" was a typical headline after 71-year-old Robert Booker Jones of St. Louis was allegedly shot to death by his wife after giving her a warm Stag beer.
But behind the punch lines, relatives are grieving a man described as generous, with unfailing allegiance to his wife, even as her mental health declined.
The shooting happened earlier this month. A 103-word story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was picked up by The Associated Press. TV and radio stations seized on the story, too. Soon, comedian Jay Leno was quipping about the killing in his "Tonight" show monologue.
His punch line? Most women would love to find a man who would get off the couch to get them a beer.
On Wednesday, dozens gathered at Reliable Funeral Home in St. Louis to remember Jones.
"He was her lifeline," said a niece, LaTanya Blevins, 30. "I know the only way she did this was if she were out of her mind."
Jones and his wife, Corine, 66, were married about 25 years, since shortly after his first wife died. They kept a gun in the house because he worried about his wife's safety when he wasn't home, which was often - Robert Jones was always on the go, giving rides to friends in his 1992 Cadillac, offering stories and jokes along the way.
"We'd sit in the car and just smoke and tell jokes, laughing," said Jones' neighbor, Edward Pruitt, who at 72 is going blind. "After a while, we'd look at each other and say, 'We'd better get on home.'"
Meanwhile, Corine Jones showed increasing signs of mental problems over the last three years, several family members said, memory lapses and mood changes that came and went. One time she seemed to forget who her husband was.
Robert and Corine Jones were among hundreds of thousands in the region who lost power during the ice and snow storm that hit Nov. 30. They were still without power on Dec. 3, alone in their one-story home. They spent much of the time sitting in the kitchen near a gas stove to keep warm.
Police said Corine Jones admitted that during that night, she shot her husband because he tried to give her a warm can of beer. She is charged with first-degree murder, and is undergoing a mental evaluation.
The funeral featured no harsh words about Corine Jones. Brianna Taylor, the couple's grand-niece, stood before the crowd and said, "God bless you, Uncle R.B. I miss you."
In a pew, Joel Manesberg, 49, choked back tears.
Manesberg and Jones had been friends for 25 years. Since Jones' death, Manesberg sometimes imagines writing a letter to Leno. He's a fan of the comedian and knows Leno meant no disrespect.
Still, Manesberg wants Leno to know a little bit about Robert Booker Jones, beyond how he died. He wants everyone to know that this man was no punch line.
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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com.
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 7023
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 03:27 pm: |
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There are reasons why smart Chicagoans avoid visiting St. Louis. |
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 3141
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 03:36 pm: |
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I used to be afraid to go to Chicago--at least they kill you over SUMPTHIN' up there.
A while back a guy killed his brother because he used too much toilet paper. Jeez.
Da Sisters is always howlin' 'bout how hard de brothas is on 'em--I just thought we needed a l'il balance!
But this goes to something I took up in my book, "A Vampyre Blues".
Mrs. Jones probably warned Mr. Jones that he shouldn't do one more wrong thing--when a black woman tells you not to do one more wrong thing, get away quick because she means not ONE MO' THING no matter how small!
A word to the wise. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2377
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 03:40 pm: |
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I like room temperature beer. It gets me drunker quicker. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 7028
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 03:44 pm: |
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Chris,
I've never had any Stag beer. But it must take dayam AWFUL when warm. |
Yvettep
Veteran Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 1481
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 09:30 pm: |
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I heard of this story when it first broke and, like most, made with the jokes. But it does now appear that some serious mental illness may have been involved. If so, this is doubly sad.
But Mzuri: warm beer??? I can only drink beer when it has been chilled in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Chris: You are so wrong. (But yet, so right...LOL) |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 2391
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 10:04 pm: |
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Room temperature! I don't drink anything ice cold. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 6142
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - 10:29 pm: |
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Egyptians also preferred their beer warm, Cleo. Just stay away from poisonous asps and their close relative, chrishayden. hisssssssssssss |
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