Perspective

[one4water]

I figured I would post this here as well since this is our region.

So the end of the season is here and like most who have and end of the season, I am bummed about putting the boat on the trailer for the winter. I have spent the past couple weekends stripping the boat of all of the cushions and gear, cleaning inside and out to be ready for shrink wrap and winterizing. I have had a persistant steering problem that my boat guys have not been able to get a handle on which has kept me off the fish for a while.

Saturday I went down for the final get ready to be hauled. They boat mechanics owed me a detail from last year due to a not so hot pre-season job so I went to the yard, which is a small two man operation but very honest and overall very good to deal with. Both guys are great to work with. Even with the issues, I have had nothing but great experiences with them. Anyway, I went over and had my list of things I wanted done. I started explaining what I want done to the boat. The conversation was friendly as usual, no issues, no problems. I mention about the credit for the detail that the owner and I talked about when the next words out of the guys mouth stopped me in my tracks.

It's never good when someone says " I guess you haven't heard the news"

The owner and his young son we both killed when his private airplane went down last week.

While I can't say I was best friends with him, I can say he was someone you could call a friend after even a short time talking to him. He was probably one of the few people I truly enjoyed doing business with and definitly enjoyed talking to and learning a thing or two from. He was just one of those guys. My wife described him as a real "old salt". Nothing but great things to say about the guy. If the apple fell close to the tree, his son was on his way to be just as great.

So all of the sudden, my winterizing shcedule, a steering problem and a slightly dirty boat really don't mean shit. Let's put it into perspective guys and girls, life is short and it starts and ends on its own schedule. Do what you love, love what you do and love those around you because we never know when our last haul out will be.

Ted, you will be missed for sure. It was our pleasure knowing you. My condolences and prayers go out to the wife and family.