Mentor

So there I was...hanging midway on a line against the side of a 100 ft cliff.  With a push from my legs away from the rock wall I zipped down the line in long bounds until I found myself at the base of the canyon watching for the Tarantula spiders as my feet touched ground.  By the way, just a warning, they can jump.  There was my friend and mentor, Mike Murphy, as thrilled as I was at my first rappelling experience.  Mike was a bit older than me and we first met when I started working at a printing plant some 32 years ago.  As I progressed through my five year apprenticeship he eventually became my direct supervisor.  The first day I worked for him he walked me over to his desk and asked me to read a sign prominently displayed that said, "NO EXCUSES".  If there was a problem I would be expected to own that problem and to create a solution to it.  This was the first of many lessons he would teach me over the coming years.  Mike and I had one thing in common from the beginning, other than our strong Christian faith, and that was our risk taking.  We loved the adrenaline rush though I think he had a more refined methodical approach.  Mike flew helicopters and would take Kim and I up for rides but I would be the one hanging out the door to increase the excitement level.  We rode dirt bikes together pushing the limits to where one wrong move could make for a very bad day.  Off road four wheeling with our trucks and parachuting were done in our quest for pushing the envelope.  On the lighter side, Mike would rent a fixed wing airplane and we would fly from Missouri, with our wives, to a four star restaurant  in Arkansas for brunch.  I was thrilled to take the controls while in the air and turned them back over to Mike as he landed us on a grass runway along side the restaurant.  It seemed there was nothing this man couldn't do and he was always willing to teach.  He had a profound influence on my life.  Though already a driven person, he helped me to refine and focus my energies to accomplish more in less time and for the right reasons.  Thank you, Mike, for all the lessons and the example.  I'll do my best to pass it on.       

Sunset

So there I was...walking as fast as I could down a street on Block Island.  Arriving, with Kim, at the Block Island Boat Basin we headed straight for the public dock where our dingy was tied up in the company of a hundred other dingies whose owners had gone ashore to enjoy all the island had to offer.  It was tempting to stop in at The Oar, a popular restaurant and watering hole next to the dock, but there was no time.  I quickly got the engine started and headed for Eventide, our 34 foot trawler style boat, anchored half way across the bay.  Arriving at the boat, Kim moved like a she cheetah exiting the dingy onto the swim platform and entered the main cabin in seconds.  I secured the dingy's painter, the line attached to the bow of the dingy, with two quick cleat hitches on one of Eventide's stern cleats.  Working like a madman I started setting everything up in the cockpit and before long Kim emerged from the cabin with hands full.  As she set things out we sat down just as the sun was setting and it was a glorious sunset.  We toasted it's beauty and thanked God for allowing us this privilege.  We have rushed back to the boat many times to witness this free gift from our home on the water where sunsets seem to have a little something extra when the lapping of waves and the silhouettes of sailboat masts are thrown into the mix.  Many years ago Kim started this tradition where she required a kiss every time we shared a sunset and I have the chapped lips to prove it.  As we sat watching the last of the color leave the sky and the quiet of the night roll in a feeling of peace rolled with it.  These simple events are not to be missed.  Don't get me started on sunrises. 

Friends

So there I was...sitting in my kitchen this morning with a cup of coffee in hand watching the snow fall outside the window.  I started to think of the times spent with friends at a state forest in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.  For several years in a row, every January,  several couples would meet at rented log cabins built during the 1930's in a secluded setting overlooking a frozen pond.  There was usually a fair amount of snow on the ground and the temperatures close to the single digits were not unusual.  That made sitting around the wood stove, our only source of heat, a favorite pass time.  We had four cabins in all but would meet at the only one with electricity for our meals during our Friday to Sunday adventure.  There were years when the snow was too deep to get the vehicles close to the tiny cabins and we'd have to toboggan in the provisions and wood for the weekend.  The one and only unheated porta-potty, that you had to hike to, was always a favorite topic of discussion.  Sounds like something everyone would want to experience.  But it was here that we would snowshoe to the top of a mountain where the ice crystals on the trees and the view of the valley below would leave all of us speechless.  Where laughter and camaraderie came easy and often.  Where warm delicious meals were shared after a hard days hike as we gathered around a thick pine table next to the wood stove and told of past adventures and future challenges.  Then we would all hike out to a field in the dark and look at the myriad of stars and howl at the moon if there was one.  It was here where friendships were forged and reinforced.  Kim and I missed the winter gathering this year since we've moved to NY.  We speak often of our friends and how we miss what took so long to build.  Dr. Seuss once wrote, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Thank you, my friends, that it happened with you.

Machine Guns And Boats

So there I was...fixated on a manned M240 machine gun on the bow of a Coast Guard Defender Class vessel coming at high speed straight for me as I was cruising up the Thames River from the upper helm of my 34 foot Mainship trawler.  Good friends of ours, Rich and Gail, had joined us for a day of cruising our home waters around Mystic, CT.  We decided to head a bit west along the coast and up the Thames River to view the New London and Groton shorelines where lie points of interest like Electric Boat where they build submarines and the Coast Guard Academy.  As we moved our way up the Groton side of the river, the before mentioned imposing Coast Guard vessel was coming right for me at very high speed and I couldn't imagine what I had done wrong to bring this wrath upon me.  I called for Kim to be at the ready and prepare to be boarded as they came to a quick halt off my port bow.  One of the Coast Guard members pointed to a spot closer to shore and said, "Move your vessel, there."  When an official with that much authority and fire power tells you what to do it is always wise to do it without question.  I immediately moved to where he said and we floated there wondering what was going on as he sped off to the middle of the river.  A couple minutes later we saw a Navy submarine coming down the river as it passed under the New London Bridge and then by us as we gave it a wide berth thanks to our Coast Guard friends.  We continued up the river and passed the submarine museum where the Nautilus submarine sits in the water at a dock where visitors can tour the inside.  The Nautilus was the first nuclear submarine and the first to travel under the ice at the North Pole.  Further upstream was the Navy sub base where several nuclear submarines are housed between missions under very tight security and many of the machine guns and Coast Guard vessels like the one I encountered earlier.  Further upstream was the quiet anchoring spot I had been in search of where we dropped anchor, had a wonderful lunch and enjoyed the peace and quiet with friends.  That peace and quiet is only there because the military men and women that I briefly met earlier do such an exceptional job.