Remembering Gavin Ford
Like the rest of Lebanon, I’ve been a fan of Gavin since back when we used to listen to him on the ride to school in the late 90s. His always positive mood, the way he’d make fun of horoscopes, his timeless granny impression... He was how thousands upon thousands of us made our morning commutes from hell just a bit more bearable.
In 2011 I feel like I got promoted from a huge fan, to a friend of Gavin’s. It was in the first couple of years of writing this blog, and I was dumbfounded and honored when he mentioned one of my articles on air out of the blue. I was lucky enough to meet him at an event, and then many, many events after that. I realized that he was even kinder, funnier and more humble in real life than he was on air.
Gavin was a sweetheart. He was always very kind, conversations with him were never shallow and he always had a smile on and could lift the mood of a country always down.
If you pause for a moment and think about it, Gavin was on air before the Israelis withdrew in 2000. He was on air when we were kicking the Syrian regime forces out in 2005. He was on air throughout the bombing and assassination campaign that terrorized the country for years. He has stuck with Lebanon in all the rough patches we’ve had over the past two decades, and the few great runs. That’s how long we’ve gotten used to his voice and jokes in the morning, and for most of you reading this, that’s most if not all of your lives.
The news hit me like a ton of bricks, and tuning into 105.5 to listen to classical music play in honor of Gavin, made me tear up. Gavin felt like a good friend, even for those who never had the honor of meeting him live. I remembered sitting in the corner with him at a movie theater last summer during some event and poking fun at the other folks attending for a good hour, and giggling like school children about it. I remembered seeing him just a few weeks ago at an event at KED.
Perhaps you expect me to talk about the rumors and disrespectful posts and comments after news broke out of his murder. I will not. I will remember the Gavin I knew, not the one the unprofessional police are “investigating”, or the one shitty tabloids are trying to generate clicks from. If you’re one of the people helping share all that in your Whatsapp groups, pause for a moment and think if that makes you a better, or a worse person.
I wholeheartedly send my love to all his friends and family. Gavin will be sorely missed. Thank you for all the laughs over the years. Thank you for brightening up Lebanon’s politics and religion infested airwaves with your wit and love.
I hope the authorities find the killer or killers ASAP, and make sure they spend the rest of their days behind bars for this heinous crime that robbed us all of an amazing friend.
Gavin ❤
