Our Deepest Sympathies
27 September 2016 | Likuliku Bay, Waya Island, Mamanuca Group
Mark Logan
Aloha All,
We received a bit of bad news today that has deeply saddened all aboard Puanani. We were told that Don Brown, Staff Commodore and former Flag Officer at KYC had passed away. I had pause to reflect on this significant loss to the organization. Don continued to give so much to the club regardless of whether he held positions of responsibility on the Board of Directors, as a committee or fleet chairperson, or just as the never-ending KYC volunteer that he was. I know that he will be sorely missed.
The first time I remember meeting Don was on an afternoon at the Sandbar. He was drifting quickly away from the stern of Kolonahe on an inflatable dinghy. What initially attracted my attention to him was the rapid fire string of four letter expletives he was screaming as he relentlessly pulled on the starter cord of his outboard motor. Words, many of which I had forgotten existed, continued to come forth even after he was physically exhausted from trying to start that $%&*ing motor. Luckily, my $%&*ing motor (same manufacturer) was working and I was able to tow Don back to Kolonahe which was firmly anchored just off the sandbar. Don swore he'd never, ever, buy another motor made by that company.
I later learned that Don was Chief Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army. Not only that, he was a crusty CW5, the highest possible rank that was achievable in the Warrant Officer Corps. Ha, that explains his mastery of the four letter vocabulary.
I continued to ponder our loss over a beer at the Octopus Resort Bar that overlooks Likuliku Bay here in Fiji knowing that I'd miss Don greeting me at KYC, always with a punch to my gut but with a smile on his face as he called me an "FNG." I knew that the "NG" stood for National Guard. I'll bet you all can guess what the "F" stood for.
As I gazed out over my beer toward the setting sun, a familiar tune played on the resort sound track. The words were all in Fijian but I knew I'd heard it many times before and now I just could not place it. When the chorus played it hit me surprisingly hard emotionally. There it was, now in plain English, "Purple Rain, Purple Rain..."
Our deepest sympathies and warmest condolences go out to Ruthann and the KYC family. All my love. V/r logan