Garbear, this ones for you!

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Re: Garbear, this ones for you!

by Bookworm » June 21, 2017, 10:56 pm

Thank you Denny. Recently, Mike and I were discussing how he got me into the Boatnerd scene. As a child, growing up in Lansing, Dad worked in the C & O (now CSX) freight office and, as a bonus, got passes to ride the trains and Badger & Spartan, owned by C & O at that time.
Badger's 50th Anniversary was in 2003 and I bought tickets. The friend who planned to go with me had to cancel and Mike had just moved to OH and was staying with me until he could get a place of his own.
My aviator son has a fear of both heights (climbing lighthouse towers are not his thing) and being on a ship -- unless he can see land -- and wasn't too keen on making the crossing, but he was willing to try.
Now this is the part where it gets a bit spooky/goofy. When the Fitz went down, we lived in OK, and heard very little about the tragedy. The last we knew, the wreck had not been found but (according to one of the check-out stand tabloids) UFO sightings were reported the night she went down. Right!
Anyway, Mike found a Whitefish Point Shipwreck Museum brochure on Badger and that changed everything! My planned vacation to photograph waterfalls suddenly became a point-to-point maritime museum adventure! From Manitowoc to Sturgeon Bay to Whitefish Point, we hit them all and when we got home, he went online...and the rest is history.
We took trips (chased freighters) to Erie, PA; Ashtabula, OH (museum); Conneaut, OH; Cleveland (museum ship Mather); Huron, OH (where we saw Joyce VanEnkevort & Great Lakes Trader, our first sighting of a modern design tug-barge); Vermillion, OH (museum); CSX/TORCO, and the St. Clair River. After he got a regional truck driving job, I went on my own to Opening Day at the Soo for several years.
That's how my interest in photographing ships began. I've tried not to show partiality in posts, but my Boatnerd friends know that, if possible, I'll go on a moment's notice just to watch Lee A glide past and listen to her engines and the sound of the water as she passes. Living here, where most ships travel 12-20 miles from shore, makes me realize how spoiled I got living along the St. Clair River.
So, yes, Mike and I are thinking back on the freighter-chasing days and the memories we made together, but aircraft are to Mike what ships are to me. That said, I appreciate your suggestion about a bench in memory of Mike but, while he enjoyed chasing boats with me, he wasn't one to sit and watch them. In fact, only when I was waiting (usually in my car) to photograph one, did I sit for long! The care and concern expressed for him on this forum is what we appreciate most and what I will remember when he's gone.

Re: Garbear, this ones for you!

by Denny » June 21, 2017, 4:39 pm

Bookworm I am so very sorry to hear the news about your son Mike and I will definitely keep you and him in my thoughts and my prayers as well. I know this is a difficult time for you and Mike but try to remember the good times that you both had together and always remember that memories can never ever be taken away from our loved ones. My Dad has been gone now for over 12 years believe it or not and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about him and the memories we once shared. I remember a line once from a TV episode and it goes like this "Remember me with smiles and laughter as that is how I will remember you all!" That is how I try to remember family and friends that aren't with me anymore as the laughter and good times we always shared with one another. Perhaps as a suggestion and an idea maybe the good folks here at boatnerd could start some sort of a collection drive for some memorial for Mike such as a bench or something like that somewhere? It is just a thought and a suggestion only. Know that God is looking down on you and Mike and he has a plan for him and trust that he will be in God's care. God Bless you both!

Re: Garbear, this ones for you!

by garbear » June 21, 2017, 9:56 am

garbear wrote:
Bookworm wrote:In a relatively recent post (can't recall the original subject, but someone will) the writer suggested it would be nice to have photos of regular submitters to the site. I got a kick out of garbear's response, and today's comic, "Pickles" made me wonder if the cartoonist found his inspiration in that reply: http://www.gocomics.com/pickles
I don't remember the response, but I know if it came from me it must have been witty:)

Dawn, I pray for you and your son often.
I take that back. I do remember the response. That cartoon is great.
Thanks.

Re: Garbear, this ones for you!

by Bookworm » June 21, 2017, 9:40 am

garbear wrote:
Bookworm wrote:In a relatively recent post (can't recall the original subject, but someone will) the writer suggested it would be nice to have photos of regular submitters to the site. I got a kick out of garbear's response, and today's comic, "Pickles" made me wonder if the cartoonist found his inspiration in that reply: http://www.gocomics.com/pickles
I don't remember the response, but I know if it came from me it must have been witty:)

I remembered the part where you said you resemble George Clooney -- like Earl in the cartoon.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Mike has said he feels his time is ending quickly. Although he still tries to live a "normal" life, he labors to move and speak now and there's very little skin, or muscle holding his skeleton together. I expect a call telling me of his passing any moment.

Re: Garbear, this ones for you!

by garbear » June 21, 2017, 8:17 am

Bookworm wrote:In a relatively recent post (can't recall the original subject, but someone will) the writer suggested it would be nice to have photos of regular submitters to the site. I got a kick out of garbear's response, and today's comic, "Pickles" made me wonder if the cartoonist found his inspiration in that reply: http://www.gocomics.com/pickles
I don't remember the response, but I know if it came from me it must have been witty:)

Dawn, I pray for you and your son often.

Garbear, this ones for you!

by Bookworm » June 21, 2017, 4:05 am

In a relatively recent post (can't recall the original subject, but someone will) the writer suggested it would be nice to have photos of regular submitters to the site. I got a kick out of garbear's response, and today's comic, "Pickles" made me wonder if the cartoonist found his inspiration in that reply: http://www.gocomics.com/pickles

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