Papaw's Roast

When my Mom came up for Easter, one night her, Teak, and I were talking about Papa's retirement roast and we tried to watch it. It is on VHS and wouldn't work on our VHS player. Mom took it home with her and her sweet boss burned 5 DVD copies for Teak, the girls, and I. Mom didn't tell Teak and I she was doing this so when we got them in the mail this week it was a nice surprise.

Friday night after dinner, Teak and I put in the DVD and had the best time. My Papaw worked for 31 years in Cooperative Extension as a swine specialist. I like to think that his legacy still lives on in the College of Agriculture and I am quite proud to know that he was well liked and respected within Extension, the college, and the state. I never knew him as a specialist since he retired the year I was born. But from what Mom has told me is that he retired when it was no longer fun. He left when the traveling got to be too much and yet was young enough to still enjoy his free time.

The roast had plenty of dirty humor and the stories were quite funny. I noticed throughout the night that Papaw kept checking his watch. He didn't want to the be the center of attention and would have much rather had the spotlight on someone else. Various people from the Ag College and the swine industry roasted him and I must say they did a fine job. After a few playful jabs at him, they all commented on how great of a man he was and how much he impacted the swine industry. He was a mentor to many and a trusted colleague to all. That was evident since 450 people attended his retirement roast/dinner.

His one liners keep me laughing and I got the opportunity to hear his voice again and memories came flooding back. I remembered how he used to call us "gang". I remembered his laugh and his smile. I remembered the tuffs of white hair that he had. He was constantly lighting another cigarette, which is how I remember Papaw. He also said a few words of wisdom that ring so true today. One of his liners said in reference to orientation for agents and specialists, "the mind can only absorb what the seat can handle". In other words, he was tired of sitting in training and was ready for a break.

Papaw was in administration for five years and though this was a high honor, he was never the administrator type. He wanted to be with the people; he wanted to be "in the field". He wanted to talk to those hog farmers and help their farming operation. He wanted to create healthy, fat pigs which makes happy farmers.

When it was time for him to speak, he got through his thanks quite well. In his speech, he said that the reason he wanted to be in Extension was to help people and promote the university. This too is the reason why I went into Extension. I want to help others in a non-traditional setting and improve the lives of citizens. I would extend his remarks and say that I perused Extension to also help promote the College. The College has done so much for me and it is an honor to be a representative of this land-grant university and strong College. Yet, when it came time to thank his family the words got a little more difficult. Though he was holding back tears, he ended his speech saying thank you to his friends and family and how he was going to spend more time with them. That he did. He enjoyed piddling with UK athletics, farming at his family farm, and spending time with us grandkids. He still visited his buddies at the Ag College and kept up on the latest news.

Watching his retirement roast was a true blessing. I got to see my Papaw in his prime and remember the sweet man that I love and miss deeply. I pray that I can have a career that I am remembered for helping others and someone who wanted to go "into the field". I pray I realize my passion and make that my life's work so that way work doesn't feel like work but instead the greatest blessing that I get to live out each and every day.

 That DVD means the world to me and I only wish we had more things on video. So I have determined that Jace and I will record everything so our children and us can remember life. Now excuse me as I research video cameras!