“GanGan Haddard.” A little boy’s way of saying “Granddaddy Howard.” Well, GanGan Haddard hits the big 3-9 today. Plus a few.
Never one to make the headlines (well, except for that term on the local school board, and runner-up in the county fair cooking contest), still my hero after all these years.
Servant heart, do anything in the world for you. Best exemplified by the story told by another of my lesser heroes about the time the church needed to buy some property. GanGan Haddard voted against it (of course!). But it passed overwhelmingly. And when the day came for that property to be renovated, who was the first one there with tools and expertise in tow? You guessed it! When my other lesser hero asked why he was so enthusiastic about helping with the work when he’d been so dead-set against getting the property, GanGan Haddard responded…
I voted and had my say, the church has spoken, now it’s time to get busy moving ahead!
I have been this guy, and GanGan Haddard is this one.
Creator of “Howardisms,” like…
- Many hands make light work.
- Sorry Braves!
- Lookahere!
- Great time o’ day!
- Don’t get caught exceeding the speed limit. (Intoned like clockwork at the end of every visit home, and followed by the response, “They have to catch me first!”)
- Boo! (Not in that scary ghost way…aw, never mind…you had to be there!)
And my favorite…
“Can’t” never could do anything!
Thanks for everything, GanGan Haddard. Happy Birthday! See you next week!
