SEATTLE — This Tacoma man loves to spread the joy of music, but a different sound has been making him smile recently.
The (stunted) tale (tail) of Jimothy the raccoon.
This trash bandit has stolen his heart, just like the rest of the country, brought together by stickers, video games, bobbleheads, blown glass, and more, all celebrating this odd little creature.
While Jimothy the raccoon remains elusive, KIRO 7 recently had the opportunity to meet Jimothy the human — also known as Jimothy Rogers.
The church music director is the son of a Jimmy who wanted a namesake, but his mother preferred the name Timothy, and so the pair decided to put those two names together.
With a name that embodies the spirit of compromise, maybe it’s not surprising that while everyone’s obsessed with Jimothy the raccoon’s sudden celebrity, Jimothy Rogers – a loving father of two - sees something deeper.
“I’m getting text messages and phone calls daily, and everyone’s just talking about how they keep hearing the story too,” Jimothy Rogers explained. “It also makes me think about children and other people who might have ailments and different physical disabilities and things like that – so I think this story could be one to create a lot of awareness about a lot of other topics.”
Jimothy Rogers says that while he knows Jimothy the raccoon’s fifteen minutes of fame is likely almost up, he hopes the goodwill and acceptance he brought lingers.
The unique name itself may carry that power, in Jimothy Rogers’ son, Jimothy Rogers II, and so the legacy lives on.
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