Monday, January 17, 2011
NW WIND 15 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 5 FT. W SWELL 15 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
I was perusing the outerwebs...
And came across this shot of full frolic...
It made me think about a few things...
Recollections, memories, reflection...
Growing up in N county San Diego...
Sharing the waves with dolphins was common...
An almost ordinary experience...
As extraordinary as it obviously was...
The water is shared now (in Oregon)...
With aggro territorial sea lions...
And unseen fish you don't want to think about...
Much less have visual (or worse) contact with...
Anyhow the image triggered a memory...
That is one of the defining moments of my life...
In 1975 my Father died, he was 45...
He died on Tax Day, April 15th...
I was in 7th grade, 13 years old...
Oak Crest Junior High School...
People told me they were sorry...
I put on an adolescent kid act...
Of utter non-chalance as best I could...
Seemed the best way to go...
To keep from crying in public...
A few weeks later we took my Father's ashes to sea...
My Grandfather piloted the boat...
Further out than we had ever gone fishing...
For hours it seemed, farther and farther...
Beyond sight of land and other boats...
It was ocean on the horizon in all directions...
As we motored we encountered a super pod dolphins...
They surrounded the boat on all sides...
Again, as far as you could see (at least in my momory)...
It was dolphins, leaping...
Dolphins surfing the boat wake...
Dolphins criss crossing the bow...
I don't remember how long we were in their midst...
But it was a long moment of joy...
My Grandfather powered down the boat...
And they passed by us in the thousands...
Tens of thousands I would guess...
Mothers with their babies at the center of the pod...
Grizzled and scarred males at the edges...
As we sat rising and falling on the swell...
Awestruck, laughing, crying...
We spread my father's ashes...
Watching the grayness spiral quickly out of sight...
My Mother dropped their linked wedding bands in as well...
She never remarried...
I don't remember the exact words she said...
But something to the effect of...
"It was as fitting a memorial as anyone has ever received".
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10 comments:
brought tears to my eyes. my dad died when i was 23, shark attack, april 7th, 2004, near his home on maui. no fun. also spread his ashes in the sea. maybe they're fishing together in another world far, far, from here. really enjoyed that post doc.
damn that is powerful. got tears. I'm sure if he read this he'd be pleased.
...a fitting a memorial as anyone has ever received...
Jesus man what a great way to celebrate the death of a loved one. Cheers bro that picked me up!
Ding
Great post as usual. Dolphins are so close to my heart also. ...
Toneman
loved this Doc!
-WC
Good post but did this blog die too? Going on a month now? Don’t tell me there haven’t been any surf in oregon now.
Thnx for letting this one settle in for a while. It's worthy of a few re-reads for certain. As someone who lost a parent as a 12yo it strikes a deep chord. Consider yourself blessed to have such a beautiful memory of his passing.
Damn, thanks for sharing that man, we've all been damaged along the way, eh? Me, my first love died at 21 long before I had gotten over her. Actually, I never have.
I don't think it was coincidence those dolphins were there that day.
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