Willie T Haynie 1926 – 2010

Willie Thomas ‘Bill’ Haynie

The WT Haynie Family

Elaine, Janis, Tom, Mom (Marie), Kristi

and with a simple ‘Amen,’ folks lingered, took pictures, mumbled a few polite words – and then left.

Quickly dispensing of our suits, Gray (his grandson) and I helped Dad into the saddle for the final ride,

and then we covered the trail of a true ‘character.’

when its family, you’re there till the end (Janis)….

.

Losing a Dad is never on the top of anyone’s list – in my own way I find comfort in one of the few places that he and I shared and spent extended time together – riding old highways as he ’ciphered-out’ our surroundings – he was real good at ‘figurin’ things out.

He would wipe the inside of the windshield (defroster didn’t work) with his handkerchief, mix ketchup with his eggs and grits, ’sop up the gravy’ from the skillet with a piece of bread, he liked cornbread and butter-milk, he could tell you the history of a truck from just walking around it, he would unbuckle his britches in front of anyone (during conversation) to tuck his shirt-tail in (no big deal), he coughed as hard as he worked, and rolled his Prince-Albert cigarettes while driving (his elbows on the steering wheel), he was just ‘Dad’ and that’s how we knew him – he “was what he was.”

I guess life is like a highway, another place with a good seat to appreciate whats right there in front of us, an opportunity to acknowledge others as we pass, a place to remember – and a time to move on.

- bye Dad, and thanks for the ride.   – “uddddnnnnnn.”

(story about that pickup)