In Memory of Mike Howard - Gifts of Time

Today marks a difficult anniversary for our family. This 28th of March will not slip by our family unnoticed, as it marks the 1-year anniversary of the passing of Mike Howard, my father-and-law. When considered collectively, I've never met a man more dedicated to God, family, church, work, play, personal fitness, and volunteering. Mike never met a stranger and he could strike up a conversation with anyone. He was terrific with kids and I loved for Grand-Daddy to spend time with our children. With our busy schedules, one-on-one time is rare. I would like to record two special opportunities Mike and I spent together during his last few weeks. I have considered these “Gifts of Time”.

I just happened to be at the Department of Motor Vehicles and Mike just happened to be in same government building on Hamilton County business. The Clerk’s office was nearer the door and what separated Mike from me when we noticed each other were a metal detector and a few security guards. Mike shouted “over” the female security guard, “Are you free for lunch?” Before I could answer, the female security guard said, “Are you asking me to lunch?” The matter was quickly resolved and the three of us had a good laugh. We went to lunch at the Southern Star for some good’ol southern cooking (sans security guard). Nothing extraordinary was said – I just remember how nice it was for Mike and I to have lunch together, just the two of us.

During the spring of 2007, a skunk had let his or her presence known underneath Mike and Robin’s home – phew!!! It was suspected that one or more skunks might be living underneath the house. The mission was simple, go in the crawl space, determine if there were skunks there, if found, chase the skunks out, and board up known and discovered breaches to the crawl space. Mike possibly could have taken on the mission by himself, but encounters with skunks should be shared whenever possible. Mike chose me! He invited me up on a Saturday afternoon for the mission. For Christmas, I purchased for the guys in the family and myself a nifty, small bright LED light that would easily clip to a baseball cap. Clipping the light to my own baseball cap, I had past experience changing Noelle’s diaper at night using the little headlamp, but I was excited about the opportunity to use the headlamp for the skunk mission. When I arrived for the skunk mission, Mike was also wearing his clip-on headlamp! This produced a hearty chuckle – the skunks would be no match for our superior intelligence and technology. Besides the lingering odor, there was plenty of evidence of a skunk occupation to include droppings and a nest made from insulation. No skunk – maybe they don’t like their own defense mechanism when forced to live with it for a time. Had we actually found a skunk, I’m sure the story would be much more interesting. So, we repaired the insulation and developed creative ways to block holes to the crawl space with available materials. I have had the opportunity to work with Mike on various projects, but the one-on-one time we spent together that afternoon was special.

These memories, among others involving Mike, I will fondly remember. If there is a message here, it would be to value one-on-one time with a friend or family member. I’d like to close by sharing my favorite photo of Mike taken in December of 2006, taken in the hospital shortly after Noelle was born. Thank you, Mike.

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