Sent to the Corner and Put on the Dunce Cap

Okay I get it keep to fishing, fly tying, nature and environmental issues and avoid conflict. After writing ten thousand times "I will not post bull shit", I needed to be reminded that no one cares about my or anyone else's opinion. Take a breath, smile and say "cheerio" and walk away.

Now as promised the NO WAKE story!!!

Back in the previous century at the dawn of cell phones analog not digital lived a man who dreamed and worked in the future. My Dad was an electrical engineer and was part of the twentieth century's greatest achievements. Space, man flight, silicon chips, smart weapons a true cold warrior, a member of the military industrial complex.  Yes that stuff! The right stuff! 

Or we thought, he was a product of the depression, lost his father when he was twelve, almost died of rheumatic fever, went to school and got two degrees at night. He was protective to his younger brother and his Mom. A strong and stoic woman. He meet the german rocket scientist even the big guy old Werner, who he characterized as a Nazi plain and simple. He once told me the only thing worse than a Nazi were the Russians. He knew the enemy and at all times kept his mouth shut, secrets are meant to be kept. Most of all he was a devoted family man who sacrificed fame and fortune to keep his family safe and provided us with a comfortable life. He was married to my Mom for almost sixty years, Mom also knew how to keep a secret too and took most of them to the grave.  Most surprising one was that she assembled the famous nordon bombsight (loose lips sink ship) during the war.

He loved boating and every year we would go to the NY boat show and step onto every boat looking for the right one. Eventually bought a boat and a house on the water to go with it. He got involved with several boating groups and the local harbor watch. Boating and boat care consumed much of his retirement life. He had an orange whistle he wore around his neck (till the day he died) and bought a cell phone analog of course. He had a handheld marine radio to monitor the weather or call the coast guard, harbor police and the like. He programmed all the important numbers into his phone, then would do a phone check to make sure they actually worked. All hours of the night too, the battery must have died! Funny an engineer not trusting the technology, must have known something about not trusting products from China.

We build a floating dock to facilitate the boating and thats where the trouble began. Besides the twice annual ritual of putting the dock in and pulling it out for the season, usually bribed with one of my mothers Sunday dinner specials. He became obsessed with the wakes people powering through the harbor were making. He would see a boat push white water a mad sprint to the floating dock, an air horn blast and whistle sounded, followed by NO WAKE at the top of his lungs. We all would cringe at the spectacle. The moment of real infamy occurred several years later  in the mall. I spotted him in the crowd and my son and I tried to duck away, but....... that damn whistle!!! 

On his passing I tucked the whistle in his breast pocket at his wake and told my Mom if she didn't behave herself she would spend eternity with her matching whistle!! Never had a problem again. When I pass the church yard on occasion I do hear a faint whistle and I chuckle and reply with NO WAKE!