The Compass in the Unexpected Place By: Jim Gandolf

“ORGANIZE”

The Compass in the Unexpected Place 

By:Jim Gandolf

©️11192025

Poem

In Milwaukee's heart, where neon signs ignite,

A stranger sought the solace of the night.

A bar, a town, a compass spinning wild,

A life unmoored, an unread, open file.

Then, by the wood, a handshake warm and true,

A kindred soul saw past the weary view.

Jimbo Struebing , a name like solid ground,

A friend you never thought could yet be found.

He spoke not of the past, nor future's dread,

But showed the power in the steps ahead.

He taught that order isn't carved in stone,

But built by choices you can call your own.

 * The first small goal, a flicker in the haze,

 * The chart you draw across the coming days.

 * A clean slate offered, free from old regret,

 * A debt of kindness you could not forget.

For organizing life is not a lock and key,

But seeing patterns where confusion used to be.

It's taking scattered thoughts, like stars astray,

And setting them to light a clearer way.

He was the map, the unexpected guide,

Who showed you where your inner strength could hide.

A stranger's gift, a friendship forged in fire,

To honor him, you must pursue your highest desire.

So let the memory of that chance meet hold,

The power of a story to unfold.

Take Jimbo's kindness, make it your own code—

To build the road on which your dreams are owed.

Jim Gandolf 

I was sitting in a bar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1998. I did not know the strength of meeting someone like Jimbo Struebing, to which was one of the most strongest meetings of a new friendship. 

Jimbo is not with us anymore, he was amazing, and the structured word “organize!” I wrote this poem long ago, but I found it the other day to remind myself to organize what I am in at all times. 

Having friends, and meeting new friends, are very important. 

I knew no one in that city, and yet I met a person who didn’t know a stranger at all.