Dad's Living Legacy

William Thaddeus - 1977

I lost my dad, William, 35 years ago (almost to the day). He was larger than life in my world. I remember thinking he was the most handsome guy I had ever seen. He had beautiful blue eyes that I see in my son. In fact, all of my dad's brothers have stunningly beautiful eyes, too.

He was, by all accounts, the life of the party. He was a salesman and could, honestly, sell ice to an eskimo. He sold milk, bread and vacuum cleaners. I proudly keep his national 3rd Best Salesman award from Kirby. He won a pony, rings, trips, boats and I am sure a variety of other things because he was competitive. He would bet on anything! His brother shared that when he was selling bread, you could catch him at a convenience store "pulling bottles." Back then folks turned in glass bottles for deposit money. These salesmen would bet on who could "pull the bottle" from the most far-flung city stamped on the bottom. Just proof that you can, indeed, bet on anything. 

My mom and dad divorced when I was young so when it was time for his visit, I would sit watching out the window for him to arrive in his Ford hotrod. He always owned the biggest engine Ford made at the time. It's rumored that he held some backroad speed records in lower Alabama. I definitely inherited the love of speed from him!

When he entered a room, he filled it. People were drawn to him because he was always laughing and joking with everyone. I don't know if there were ever strangers in his world. I watched with amazement as he walked into a McDonald's restaurant and fell onto the counter exclaiming, "I'm having a Mac Attack!" That was their very successful ad campaign at the time. All of kids just rolled with laughter as did the folks there to witness it. 

I will never forget sitting on his lap in the driver's seat of his 1974 Lincoln Continental with a 460 ci engine  "driving" while we cruised the Florida Turnpike at 70 mph. I remember saying, "Dad there's a car up there," I said. "Well, get into the other lane ... let's pass it," he said. As a joke, he started snoring and I thought he had fallen asleep while I was "driving." I screamed and he laughed so hard. 

He always enjoyed the things that mom was cautious about and I treasure them. He had a dirt go cart track in his yard one place he lived. We about wore that go cart out while we were there going as fast as we could and sliding around the corners. Firecrackers and staying up late marked our time with him. Laughter was something all of kids were so blessed to have with both our dad and mom. 

While in high school, I spent a good deal of time working on cars and racing them (always illegally on some back road). I was a Mopar head and I know that would have made him very upset. I had a 1973 Dodge Dart with a 360 ci that had the low-end torque that would take just about any stock in that class in 1/8 mile and some in a quarter mile.

1969 Hemi SuperBird

One weekend, some friends headed to Port St. Joe, FL to do some racing when we stopped by a man's house that had a 1969 Hemi SuperBird. His son had been killed in Vietnam in 1970 and the car had been kept in a garage, driven once a week since. This man had grown up in St. Joe and had been involved in racing all those years. We began talking and I don't know how it came up but I told him my dad lived in St. Joe in the 60s, was the bread man and he always had the fastest Ford he could afford.   

"Was his name Thad?" the man asked. "Well, yes, Grimes, was his last name," I said. The man proceeded to tell me about what he remembered about my dad. He said he was always good for a laugh and everyone around there knew him. Also, said he won quite a few of those races and pocketed some big purses. "It's a good thing he didn't live here very long cause we would've all been broke!" he shared. 

What's the chances of me finding someone that knew my dad, in such a way, 20+ years after the fact? I saw that as God's way of giving me what I needed at the time. You see, just that week before I had split with someone that I thought was my soulmate. I was struggling with what I wanted to do with my life and missing the one thing I didn't have in my life, my dad. 

Today, I look back and cherish these crazy times with my dad and I look at the legacy he left in my brother, my sister (who is just like him) and our children - five boys that carry his genes into the next generation. Would he be proud of what he helped to create? I think he would because each of them are amazing human beings that love to laugh and are the life of the party. They make an impression on everyone they meet and bring so much joy to this world.