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Family And Friends Gather To Celebrate Jordan's Life

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

gewman@tampatrib.com

Published: December 31, 2008

PLANT CITY - In 2007, hardware store owner Johnny Knotts spent time viewing the Plant City Christmas Parade near Laura and Collins streets.

He was keeping an eye out for the owner of the apartment building he lives in.

"There was a big party that coincided with the Christmas parade that night Dec. 7," Knotts said. "Cars were parked everywhere. Otherwise I would have been out taking my usual Friday night jog."

About 8 p.m., Jordan "Booka" Hays, 9, was walking beside the float of Greater Heights Family Worship Center near where Knotts was standing. The Inverness boy, who was visiting family, was helping the church hand out beads and candy when he was dragged under the wheels of the 2,500-pound trailer that served as the float.
Knotts heard a woman scream and saw the boy under the trailer. He and three others instantly moved to help but to no avail. Jordan died within five minutes.
Knotts got to know the family and this year invited them to be his guests at the 2008 holiday parade, originally scheduled for Dec. 5. The parade was postponed because of a search for a suspect in two slayings, but Jordan's parents, Jerry and Connie Hays, and Knotts' family and friends, including Mayor Rick Lott, still marked the occasion inside Knotts Trading and Supply.

"We sat around the store on buckets on Dec. 5 and had a good and meaningful time together," Knotts said. "We were able to find some closure there. And I think the cancellation of the parade was a good thing for all of us in the end."

Most meaningful for the family was the effort to remember the little boy who practically died in Knotts' arms the year before, he said.

"I feel Jordan's spirit alive in me," Knotts said. "I feel the happiness he felt when he was marching along in that parade. I feel the joy he would have felt watching the floats and bands pass by this and every year. He still lives in the love that surrounds him."

Jordan was the kind of youngster who never got upset, took an interest in serious conversations and loved everyone, his father said at the boy's funeral. He also said he appreciated the many people who rallied around the family.

Lott said he appreciated the opportunity to join with Knotts and pay his respects to the boy's memory.

"We sat together and shared a remembrance of Jordan's life," Lott said. "Johnny opened the gathering with a prayer. Johnny spoke about how his life has taken on new meaning since last year. I met the Hays family and friends and listened as they recounted stories of Jordan's life. They talked about ways that he enriched them. We talked about the Christmas parade. They talked about the excitement and joy that was a big part of Jordan's life.

"Their coming to Plant City was very solemn and meaningful," Lott said.

Jordan was also remembered at the rescheduled parade on Dec. 19. Several members of Jordan's family were there, and police Chief Bill McDaniel stopped during the parade to place a teddy bear at the site where Jordan died. Behind McDaniel, the Plant City Fire Rescue honor guard held the colors. Fire Rescue Capt. Nat Hargrove, dressed in traditional Scottish kilt, played a soulful tune on the bagpipes. Jordan's parents did not attend the rescheduled parade.
Knotts downplays his effort, which included a toy drive in Jordan's memory.

"God chose me to be there when Jordan died," Knotts said. "He chose me to be with Jordan when he left this physical world. He chose me to speak with so many people who came by to grieve for Jordan and his family."
Knotts said "the story is that Jordan lives on."

"His time on Earth was short, but it was filled with laughter and joy. Jordan lives in me and in everyone who cares for and loves the people around them. It is a story, not of sadness, but of hope

"It's a story of the true joy of Christmas."

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451.

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