Hot Diggity Dog!
October 15, 2020
OCTOBER 15TH DECLARED BILL GAY DAY. My new favorite day.
I don’t want to leave a legacy…
Yesterday we celebrated what would have been my grandfather’s 94th birthday at his office. October 15th was declared “Bill Gay Day” by our mayor. It was a celebration of a life well lived. Any time he was excited or happy about something he would happily exclaim, “hot diggity!” or “hot dog!” and I know that would have been his sentiment seeing so many people he loved in one place. On the way home this song by Casting Crowns came on the radio as tears rolled down my face. My grandfather left an incredible legacy but he did it in the name of Jesus and I am so very proud to be his granddaughter.
“I don’t want to leave a legacy....I don’t care if they remember me, only Jesus. I’ve only got one life to live, I’ll let every second point to Him. Only Jesus.” ~Casting Crowns
As they read all of his accolades and presented all sorts of awards in his honor everyone ended by saying, “He gave all the credit to the Lord.”. One of the words used most frequently to describe him was, “father”. He was a father figure to countless men and women. He was beloved by all who knew him. I sat in awe thinking about the kind of leader he was for his employees. They were not employees to him. They were family. His motto was, “Our employees are the best in the business” and he broadcasted that on every billboard in town. He cared deeply about his city. When my mom and I were working his obituary I wrote, “There are very few buildings in Jacksonville that do not have the fingerprints of Bill Gay”. I have heard several people quote it since and it makes me smile every time. It is so true. It came to me as I was thinking of all of the powder blue trucks driving around Jacksonville. I had always thought it would make me so sad to see them when he was no longer here but instead it makes me smile. It’s like a little hug from him every time I see one. I love seeing what he created living on and am proud that one of those trucks is parked in our very own driveway every night.
My grandfather and I connected on many things and he and my grandmother were always there for me. They came to all of my games growing up, they were there for every birthday, graduations, every special memory…they were even there the night I got engaged. Brian knew I would want them there with my parents. My Poppa had a way of making everyone feel special and loved. His mind never stopped and every time we talked he wanted to know how my business was doing. He was always looking ahead to what was next. He loved my entrepreneurial spirit and wanted to hear about my business with Beautycounter. He was a numbers guy and wanted to know my stats. He would always say, “good honey,” regardless of what I told him. He really just wanted to talk to me. Success was not measured by money in his eyes. He loved that I was able to work at home and be with my children. As I listened to the stories pointing to his leadership style I was inspired by him yet again. He is the kind of leader I aspire to be and I want to make people feel loved and cherished the way he did. When I asked him how he created such a successful business from the ground up he would say, “It’s not anything I did honey. It was the Lord.”. He meant it. He was so humble and never took credit for his success. He was blessed indeed, but he also loved and served well.
His favorite holiday was Christmas. When my grandmother refused to let him keep a Christmas tree up all year he built his very own Christmas room. The Christmas decorations and tree stayed up year round in that room. It always makes me smile remembering that banter between my grandparents. Last year we made ornaments and decorations for the tree in his living room where he sat and he asked us to leave it up. His house was always covered in lights. I love Christmas because of the magic he created. He passed down his love for Christmas to my mom and I. I remember waking up on Christmas morning at his house and coming out to find the hearth lined with toys. He had a life-sized Santa Claus that would move back and forth and his office was always decked out in decorations. The day after Thanksgiving our city has grown to love and expect the nativity scene and Christmas decorations that appear on the roof of his office off of I-10. He had Santa bring Christmas gifts to all of the children every year at the office party. However, his joy for giving was year round. He was the most generous person I have ever met.
Yesterday was hard and beautiful at the same time. It was very emotional. I am still grieving and knowing the magnitude of the man we lost, I will probably be grieving for a while. We weren’t able to do a proper memorial because of Covid. This was the first thing we were able to do to honor him. As I pulled out of the parking lot and looked at the charred entrance to his office, with tears rolling down my face, the song I mentioned above began to play. I was overwhelmed thinking…”How will I ever live up to what you did Poppa? How can I make the kind of impact you did and help as many people as you did? How can I make you proud and carry on your legacy?" Then my grandfather answered me through this song, “I don’t want to leave a legacy....I don’t care if they remember me, only Jesus. I’ve only got one life to live, I’ll let every second point to Him. Only Jesus.”
Happy Birthday, Pop. I love you more than you know.