The Scoop: Dan Gray fortunate to have his own day
For those who didn’t attend the mid-sized ceremony at the downtown gazebo Tuesday night, you missed a once-in-a-lifetime event.
What was expected to be a small gathering for a handful of Main Street organizers overflowed into what will be forever known as Dan Gray Day in McMinnville. It was a joyous occasion.
So what exactly is Dan Gray Day? It’s a day named in honor of former Main Street Director Dan Gray, who returned to his native England this week. Dan, in fact, called some of his friends here yesterday to tell them his flight home went well and his plane landed safely.
But before Dan left, there were festivities. The mayor himself, Royce Davenport, was on hand Tuesday night to make the official proclamation that May 28, 2002 is now the aforementioned Dan Gray Day. If you ask me, that’s pretty high praise.
There are few things in this world I really covet and having a day named in my honor happens to be one of them. These are sentiments I’ve held ever since my school days when I was forced to do special projects to commemorate Columbus Day and Washington’s Birthday.
So you can see how I’m naturally jealous of Dan Gray. He’s now a man with his own day and there’s few things better than that.
As far as shopping, and how Day Gray Day will impact local retail sales, I’ve yet to determine if the day will be celebrated every year or whether it was a one-time event. If it’s going to be an annual event, it might be a wise idea if someone notified Hallmark. Area flower shops would no doubt see increased business.
I could drop my wife a line next May 28 and say, “Just thinking of you Cupcake on Dan Gray Day.” Well, that sort of sounds weird doesn’t it.
I guess the only person it would be appropriate to send a card on Dan Gray Day would be Dan himself. I could send him a card which says, “Just thinking of you Dan on Dan Gray Day.” Now that really would be awkward.
But Dan is lucky because there aren’t many things better than your own day. If I had to find things that would be close, I’d say it would be nice to have a sports car named after me (preferably some sort of Chevy convertible). Maybe there could even be a whole line of sports cars – the James Clark SE series.
Big-time wrestling fan that I am, it wouldn’t be bad to have a wrestling hold named after me. If they can have a move called the full Nelson, there’s no reason there can’t be some sort of Clark slam. But outside of a sports car, a wrestling hold, or maybe even a casserole, I’d say a special day named in my honor would be the next best thing.
In another surprise move Tuesday night, the mayor also gave Dan his very own key to the city. Personally, I’d rather have Butch Bullen give me a key to Baskin-Robbins, but a key to the city isn’t too shabby.
Several folks have asked me what lock the key to the city actually opens. Truth is, it doesn’t open any locks. It’s a “key” only in the sense it looks like a key. It is really just a symbol of good will, a token of appreciation.
Dan worked hard for several years to receive his recognition Tuesday night. He stayed so busy and worked so diligently, he barely had time to pack his bags before leaving town.
In fact Dan was so busy, when he packed everything away, he also packed his airplane tickets. To make matters worse, his tickets were in a package he mailed back to England before his departure. That certainly made it difficult when he arrived at the airport. In addition to having to get new tickets issued, I understand Dan was searched rather thoroughly.
That might have been a pain so to speak, but at least he has consolation in knowing that in McMinnville, there will always be Dan Gray Day.
So long Dan. You will be missed.
(James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at standard@blomand.net.)