Billy Clay
I couldn't have asked for a better idol growing up. I always wanted to be just like Papa. He taught me that if you're going to do something, do it right the first time. Papa was a perfectionist and then some. He once spent two weekends measuring out the framework for Janine's barn because the diagonal measurements of a 30x 30 building were off square by , and to Papa, that was not good enough. When I found out that my wife was pregnant, I couldn't wait for the baby to meet Papa and fall in love with him as I had. When I my phone rang at 7:04am on Friday, I realized that I would miss out on getting a picture of Papa holding my baby. I was driving back to my in-laws' house from Black Friday shopping. I didn't cry. I didn't know what to do. So, I went in the house and heated up some turkey. I watched the dogs play in the back yard. When I finally went upstairs to lie back down, Angelica asked me if I got everything I went for. I just said "Mom called. Papas gone. Those four words made my world crash down. It got me thinking about all the things I would miss. I miss riding in the back of a Ford pickup from Dallas to Alaska and back. I miss making homemade pineapple sherbet on the back porch. I miss making pinewood derby cars. I miss watching Easter chase Little Bit around the back yard. I miss Mimi and Papa bottle-feeding three kittens that hadn't yet opened their eyes. I miss his seemingly endless supply of khaki work clothes. I miss the smell of Papa's Old Spice. I miss watching Papa cut down a 40' tree in 2' sections, one limb at a time and then digging waist-deep to cut out every root. I miss shooting sparrows with BB guns so the purple martins could build their nests in peace. I know there aren't any sparrows in Heaven because Papa would take 'em out. I miss Papa desperately trying to outsmart the squirrels from stealing the birdseed. I miss sitting in awe as he told me stories I had probably heard a hundred times before but didn't care. I miss 'fiddlesticks' I miss 'snicklefritz' I miss his voice. I miss his hugs. I miss my Papa.