Gramps circa 1960s
This is something from my heart, so please take it for what it is. On December 17 1996, my paternal grandfather passed away. I'd take a moment to honour Gramps, who 15 years later I still miss dearly. I'm writing this blog to thank him for giving me the opportunity to fall in love with the sea. This is my first personal blog, but I feel the need to express myself.
I constantly find myself stumbling upon a simple phrase that Gramps would say, "we're the luckiest people in the world!" I'd look up at his face, my arm stretching out entirely to reach his hand. I could see inside his hairy nostrils and noted how bushy eyebrows were and raise my Shirley Temple in delight. These features seemed to make him wise and all knowing, like the snowy owl painting he often sat beside while entertaining. I had complete admiration for the man. I believed him entirely when he said we were lucky. That's never faded, whenever the tough gets going, or I need a break, those words materialize in my mind. Although I only got to know him for seven short years, the impact he had on me will last a lifetime.
Gramps, instilled a love of the ocean into my dad, which they both passed down to me. My dad calls it "poison," he says I've been "poisoned" too. "Once you give your heart to the ocean, it will tug at your strings, luring you in deeper and deeper, until your poisoned with dreams of blue marlin, and endless seas."
I constantly find myself stumbling upon a simple phrase that Gramps would say, "we're the luckiest people in the world!" I'd look up at his face, my arm stretching out entirely to reach his hand. I could see inside his hairy nostrils and noted how bushy eyebrows were and raise my Shirley Temple in delight. These features seemed to make him wise and all knowing, like the snowy owl painting he often sat beside while entertaining. I had complete admiration for the man. I believed him entirely when he said we were lucky. That's never faded, whenever the tough gets going, or I need a break, those words materialize in my mind. Although I only got to know him for seven short years, the impact he had on me will last a lifetime.
Gramps, instilled a love of the ocean into my dad, which they both passed down to me. My dad calls it "poison," he says I've been "poisoned" too. "Once you give your heart to the ocean, it will tug at your strings, luring you in deeper and deeper, until your poisoned with dreams of blue marlin, and endless seas."
Me ... Many Moons Ago.
I remember being four or five years old and watching my dad and his father reel in fish three-times my size! Being so small, and watching dolphin and wahoo thrash around was scary, but it was also exciting. I'd lift up the fish' gills and then shriek, "gross!" and scamper away. And immediately upon returning to dock I would sit waiting to watch the fish get filleted, ready to poke at their eyes and watch in awe as an adult would pull smaller fish out of its belly!
I wanted to see more fish, I wanted to know more about what was below that blue reflective, ever churning surface that was starting to cast its spell on me. I wanted to be back out at sea; nature's amusement park.
I wanted to see more fish, I wanted to know more about what was below that blue reflective, ever churning surface that was starting to cast its spell on me. I wanted to be back out at sea; nature's amusement park.
It was here I felt at peace and alive; and that feeling has only intensified over the years. It's a sense of enlightenment, of actually being part of nature. Feeling in awe of our planet and how mysterious life on earth really is. I see miracles every time I'm at sea, whether its breaching pilot whales, greyhounding blue marlin, swimming with wild dolphin, the techni-colour world of coral reefs, or simply the sheer beauty and force of the ocean itself.
Every time I breath under water, catch a fish, or just sink my feet into the sand and let the tide wash the sand around me to sea, I take a deep breath and know I'm connected to something so much greater than I could ever imagine. This is why I'm writing today's blog, because of your presence in my life, Gramps. I know each time I see the ocean, you're there with me in some way, even if it's just because I'm there; remembering you and thanking you.
We were all have something that drives us: who or what inspires you?
Every time I breath under water, catch a fish, or just sink my feet into the sand and let the tide wash the sand around me to sea, I take a deep breath and know I'm connected to something so much greater than I could ever imagine. This is why I'm writing today's blog, because of your presence in my life, Gramps. I know each time I see the ocean, you're there with me in some way, even if it's just because I'm there; remembering you and thanking you.
We were all have something that drives us: who or what inspires you?
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