You know you've met Mike Gillings if. . . a 70th Birthday tribute!

My dad, Mike Gillings just turned 70, I hope at his age I still have the energy and vigor for life that he does.

Get to know him a little better.

You know you’ve met Mike Gillings if…

• On a week long scout trip the last advice to the scouts is “Say goodbye to your mom, you may never see her again”.


• When the word “only” is used to describe at 11 hour work day. Such as, “We only worked 11 hours today.”


• After a 12 hour work day you see a man on a “short” 12 mile run.


• When asking someone why they work on Saturday he responds, “The Lord said six days shalt thou work.”


• You share terrible event in your life and his response is “wait, I might have a tear in my eye. Nope, it must have been dirt.”


• If you fall, get injured and are in major pain and he says, “Wow that was awesome, get up.”


• After going on an amusement park ride a man comes up, shows you a bolt and says, “This fell out when we were riding.” Then when later asked, why do you have a bolt in your pocket he replies, “I always do, don’t you?”


• If when on a job and the superintendent says to the brick masons “after you are gone, I’m going to have to fix all your problems” a man climbs down off the scaffolding, pulls some change out of his pocket and says, “This should cover it.”


• When hiking and reaching the bottom of a large hill to rest he says, “You never rest at the bottom of the hill, only at the top.”


• If when hiking along and the rest of the group stops to rest and a 60+ man approaches and says, “I’m not stopping”.


• You see a man on a scaffold, blood running down his face with his hat pulled down tight, and you ask him what happened he says, “I sliced my head on the roof and the blood was getting in my eyes, so I pulled my hat on tight, now try to tie my hair together.”


• You leave to hang out with friends and he says, “If you get home late, my only rule is don’t wake me up.”


• If you see a man picking maggots out of his boiling ramen noodles, then still eating the noodles.


• If he describes a scout hike by saying, “Have you ever heard of Hell week in the army? This will be worse.”


• He falls asleep driving…or…marching…or…hiking…or…singing in church…or…while laying bricks…or…in a puddle during a snow storm.


• You see a man sitting on the stand in church popping little white pills.


• At 10:00 p.m. he falls asleep while talking to you.


• You see a 70 year old man who rides bikes, and then lift weights after working a full day.


• At 50 he could still out water ski anyone.


• You look into a pot, filled with anything he could find, and when asking what it is he responds, “Cowboy surprise.” Then his daughter leaves crying.


• When someone throws up in a car, causing a chain reaction his only response is, “Oh this is great.”


• When throwing up while sea fishing on a boat, his only response is, “Come do it over the side, it will attract the fish.”


• You see a man using a trowel with writing on it and you ask, “What is that?” and he responds, “The one the scouts presented to me, what else am I going to do with it?”


• He gets a wheelbarrow for Christmas, on HIS Lehi Block Credit.


• He suggests his “indestructible” son who is about to serve a mission hikes over the pass first to see if Lightning hits him.


• He describes gun owners as, “so wimpy he can’t fight so he needs a gun.”


• He backs into a gas station cover, smashes it and then looks at his son in the passenger seat and says; “Well, go tell them.”


• He describes you as a “Wuss”.


• He says to his kids, “if you eat your vegetables, you will grow up big and strong like your mom.”


• When on a hike another scout leader asks, “Who is this guy? Tie his shoe laces together next time you see him” as he mockingly waves to you from the top of the massive hill you have yet to climb.


• You meet a man running down Mt. Timpanogos with his severely dislocated arm in a sling because he didn’t want to waste money on the helicopter.


• He served more years than you are old in the scouting program.


• He leaves you behind on a camping trip and when you ask him why his only response is; “I said we were leaving at 5, you were late.”


• At a family party he is down stairs reading an encyclopedia because he is “Bored”.


• He opens and closes his flip phone multiple times because he doesn’t like or know how to use, the “back” button.


• You see numbers and addresses written on the unfinished wood wall of a house and he says, “Don’t cover that, I need it.”


• His address and information book looks more like fire kindling.


• At 70 he is in the 1% for weight, and health in his age class.


• He will serve in any calling for any amount of time and never complain while magnifying his calling.


• He has 4 of 5 children who served missions and 5 of 5 who are married in the temple and attributes it to “Just being Lucky”.

Here is the video: