Cherished Memories

"Watch this," dad said as he added throttle and maneuvered the boat into position. We were about 25 yards off the port stern from Eclipse Charter's Red Head. The Red Head was a substantial whale watching boat, and it threw a surprisingly big wake when it was cruising. As we reached the crest of the Red Head's wake and slid down the front, dad pulled back on the throttle. We were surfing! On a man made wave. In a boat. "Why don't you take the helm," dad said as he stepped down from his seat. It wasn't a question, and I didn't hesitate. I got  behind the wheel and made the necessary adjustments as we zoomed past Blind Bay and the Shaw Island Ferry Terminal. It was the nautical version of hyper-mileing in a car – think of the gas savings! I have two kids of my own now, and I've been thinking about the different kinds of relationships parents have with their kids. In my dad's case, I think he had a different kind of relationship with each of his kids. After all, with his oldest born in 1977 and youngest in 1991, we were almost 15 years apart. In the years after the divorce, he endeavored to make the most of the meager every-other-weekend custody arrangement while simultaneously running a business that was busiest on the weekends. I was often along for the ride on some Tim's Mobile Marine mission or other, with rarely anything to do and long stretches of boredom. The core of his business was towing boats, and you might say he had me in tow too. Nowadays, I prefer to think of it as surfing his wake.

In the Summer of 1993, Jurassic Park came to our local Sea View Theater on Orcas Island. I was almost 8 years old, and Dad took me to see Jurassic Park. Not once, but three times. I can't remember going with him to see any other movie there. I'm not sure if it was because I loved it or because he loved it, but it was a real treat to see such an epic movie multiple times in theater. That movie will always be special to me.

A favorite memory from my childhood is music in the morning. My dad had these gigantic speakers in the living room of the geodesic dome. In the morning when we were getting ready for school, dad would play music - usually jazz, Motown, Moody Blues, Eric Clapton or something else that was nostalgic to his youth. I loved it - it was such a soothing way to get ready for the day. I recently learned of Boz Scaggs from my dad and have been listening to him a lot in the weeks since his passing. He said "Rainy Night in Georgia" would be his karaoke song. My dad loved music - for a guy who sometimes had trouble communicating his feelings, I think music helped him work through them.