1/22/2008
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: Bubba
<br><br>Let me go out on a limb here.  I double-dog dare you to try to find a town anywhere south of the Mason Dixon line that doesn’t have a “Bubba”.  Surely you know a “Bubba“.....everybody does.  The mere name conjures up images of a likeable, larger than life ole’ southern boy that everybody in town knows by the name his buddies gave him, not the one his momma put on his birth certificate.  He’s the kind of guy who wears an old worn out cap and chews on a toothpick all day long.  He’s the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it or stop in the middle of a rain storm to help a stranger change a flat tire.  He’s the kind of guy who did not seem to get bent out of shape about much of anything, knowing that it soon would pass.  Laid-back, laughable, and loveable.  That’s Bubba.  No....wait a minute....that’s Bubba Baird.<br><br>I tell you that our fair town of Centerville, and especially the Fairfield Church of Christ, recently lost one of the best “Bubba’s” God ever created.  Jerry Baird Jr., or “Bubba”, as everyone knew him, was as good as they came.  Quiet, un-assuming and humble are just a few of the words that come to my mind when I think of Bubba.  Jerry was the kind of fella that wanted everyone else to receive the praise if there was any to be given out.  He was the kind of guy who didn’t want to share the spotlight with anyone....he wanted them to have it all to themselves.  Jerry wanted to just sit back quietly, grin that ole’ sly grin, and bask in everyone else’s glory.  Especially when it came to his family.<br><br>Bubba and his wife, Bobbie, or as the grandkids call her, “B”, have one of the best crews around.  They did a marvelous job in raising their 3 girls, Holly, Jill and Erin.  They in turn, picked up 3 fine fellas that Jerry was proud to call his son-in-laws.  And the grandchildren, oh the grandchildren.  Those kids were the apple of his eye.  I dare say that each of them had him wrapped around their little fingers tighter than a drum.  He loved nothing better than cheering them on at one of their ballgames, swelling up with pride because of all the “A’s” on their report cards, or simply rolling around on the floor with one, or all of them.  Just sounds like fun having a “Bubba” for a granddad, doesn‘t it?<br><br>You would never know if you waited on him to tell you, because he wouldn’t, but Jerry Baird Jr. was quite the athlete growing up, excelling in anything that had to do with a ball, especially basketball.  In high school, Jerry was named one year to the all-state basketball team.  I am told by those in the know that Bubba had one of the meanest set shots around and could drain it from practically anywhere on the court.  Not one to be left out, I hear “B” was pretty good with a basketball herself.  What a team they were, Bubba and B, whether on the court or off.<br><br>Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children”.  Jerry Baird Jr. left something to his grandchildren far more important than money.  He left them with the memories of a granddad who was so proud of them in whatever they did.  He left them with memories of a man who was never to busy to spend a little time with his family, realizing how precious and important that time was.  I think Bubba left them with the impression that, as long as you had your family around, you had it all.  I think you will find no amount of money can buy any of that.<br><br>This past Sunday morning, one of Bubba’s grandsons, Jon Michael, wrote on the back of his attendance card, “Devin did very good today”.  Well, Jon Michael, let me tell you something buddy...I know like the rest of Bubba’s grandkids, the encouraging spirit of your granddaddy lives on in you.  I think, now, everyone knows it goes without saying, Bubba did a pretty good job himself.<br><br><br>Go the extra mile - Devin     <br>