Good Morning Daddy
07 February 2014 | At sea
First Mate
Good Morning, Daddy
One thing you notice out here is the many shades and hues of the water. This morning I was at the wheel early, even before coffee, staring out at the deep gray sea and thinking about an adjective to use to describe this gorgeous color. My Dad’s eyes. The Gulf this morning is the same gray color as Michael Mike’s eyes! Just then a family of dolphins jumped up on the starboard side. So cool to watch, and oh so timely.
I’ve mentioned before how dolphins remind me of my Dad. It maybe a stretch for you to imagine why I see my Dad in dolphins, since he was a man who wore wing-tip shoes on the beach and didn’t like the water, but I do see & feel him. First, their eyes are small and, with their ever-present smile, I imagine are slightly crinkled. And their snouts sticking out looks pointed like his gray beard when he’d play with it into a point while thinking. Then you can’t always find them (MM1 was often ‘indisposed’), but when they do turn up, you’re so happy to see them again. Finally, dolphins are usually seen in pods, and if there was ever a man who loved his pod it was my Father. So every time I see dolphins I always say ‘hi Daddy’. It helps me carry the grief I feel from missing him, one more day.