There are times when you make decisions and the results make you ask “What if?” Those “What Ifs?” can drive you crazy. One such decision for me happened nearly 25 years ago, when my twin left on a drive back to San Diego, headed back to school. This is the first time I am writing [...]
The Serenity Prayer or Neibhur’s Prayer starts with an almost universally recongized: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. My friend Grant wrote that being a twin isn’t always easy, but he wouldn’t trade it [...]
“Here is my secret. It’s quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes…It is the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important…People have forgotten this truth. But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you have tamed. You’re responsible [...]
I will show you fear in a handful of dust —The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot I don’t think that most people actually fear death, I think we fear that no one will notice our absence—that we will disappear without a trace. Ellie need never fear this, because she will always be missed by me. Though [...]
Today, I had cheese stuffed tortellini for the first time in over a decade. It is strange, but I didn’t realize that I hadn’t bought or made this type of pasta in over ten years, even though it was always one of my favorites. It was also a dish that I cooked a lot for [...]
A little over ten-and-a-half years ago, Gee came home for the last time. It was Thursday, June 7th, 2001. She had been released from the hospital, where she had been since May 28th, Memorial Day, for home hospice care. As I carried her into the house, what she said to me was bittersweet. She said, [...]
The rain has prevented me from working on s/v Pretty Gee as I was planning. So, instead, I thought I would write a bit about the amazing woman I love, to let my friends see who she is and why I love her so very much. Ellie is a beautiful, intelligent, selfless, stubborn, and fiery-tempered [...]
Tomorrow, I will give Ellie’s mother all the documentation I have about why I believe that Ellie is ill and needs help. I hope that the reasoning and conclusions that I came up with as well as all the evidence that I have, in Ellie’s own words, from my conversations with her, and from my [...]
I found this definition of Querencia on a website: “In Spanish, querencia describes a place where one feels safe, a place from which one’s strength of character is drawn, a place where one feels at home.” I have always defined it as it was taught to me by a friend many years ago–home of the [...]
I’m lying on the foredeck of my friend’s sailboat, thinking about and missing Ellie. When she was younger, she used to love sleeping on the foredeck of S/V Pretty Gee. She also used to curl up under the dodger, above the S/V Pretty Gee’s companionway. Right now, she appears to be missing in action and [...]
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
I am really disgusted by how little the wedding vows mean to so many people today. Apparently, the idea of making and keeping a commitment to someone when you say your vows is an unusual concept. Just look at Woods, Weiner, Schwarznegger, Edwards, and so many others. The list goes on and on. What part [...]
Over the past few days, I’ve realized a few things about Ellie that I had not thought of before talking with several friends of mine. The conversations I’ve had with them about Ellie and what she has come to mean to me have been very enlightening—bringing up insights that probably would have taken me months [...]
I have been working on a book about what Gee and I went through in the short 23 months and one day we were together. However, I haven’t really been able to write the book and couldn’t understand why until this week. This week I finally realized what had been keeping me from really working on the book. The problem was I did not know the how the book would end. This week, I think I finally figured it out—but the ending has yet to be written.
The other day I was in West Marine, picking up some supplies for s/v Pretty Gee. There was a bucket of assorted candies at the register, so I dug through it to find the miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. The cashier commented that those seemed to the be most popular candy they had in the [...]
Today, I’m writing about Courtney, the young daughter of an online friend of mine. She passed away earlier this week, due to complications from her cancer. She was one of the youngest women to be diagnosed with breast cancer , as she was only twenty or so when she was diagnosed. Today is her memorial [...]
Right now, my thoughts are with an online friend, Mike, and his family. Mike is a fellow sailor, and I know him through one of the sailing forums I participate on. While I’ve never met Courtney, or her family, I have spoken and corresponded with them over the past year. His daughter Courtney is a [...]
Originally, my plans for the Fourth of July were to go and anchor out in Buzzards Bay, just outside the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier, and watch the fireworks over Fort Phoenix. I changed those plans because there was supposed to be a 70% chance of thunderstorms and the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier was going to [...]
Seven years, seven months and seven days ago was one of the happiest days of my life. It was November 4, 2000, and I married the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. I knew I was going to marry her the very first time I heard her voice. It is difficult to believe that today, [...]
My friend Alex was stuck up in New Hampshire for work. He lives in Portugal, but occasionally visits New England because of his job. Since I had some boat hardware for his boat, I went by his hotel yesterday to drop it off. Alex looked miserable, sailing withdrawal… Since my boat isn’t quite ready to [...]
Today is always a day of mixed memories for me. Twenty years ago today, my identical twin brother, David, was killed by a drunken driver just outside of Nashville, Tennesee. The drunk driver only got 90 days suspended due to the incompetence of the police department that handled the accident investigation. It took the police [...]
Well, I am an uncle again. Earlier this month, my new niece was born. Abigail Kim Morrissey is the first grandchild in my in-laws family, and I am very happy to be an uncle again. She was born on August 1, 2007 and weighed six pounds and 13 ounces. Her mother is my sister-in-law, Michele. [...]
Six years ago today, I was cast Adrift At Sea. The amazing woman who had agreed to marry me in September 1999 finally lost her fight with pancreatic cancer. Gee passed away at 11:00 am, six years ago today, exactly seven months and seven days from the start of our wedding. Even today, I find [...]
In the last week I’ve had some friends and family visit Boston and the surrounding area. My friend Cindy, who lives in New Mexico, was in town for a training last week. One aunt and uncle came here from Honduras to celebrate my mother’s birthday. Another friend, Alex from Portugal, has been working up in [...]
The 2007 Sailing Season has finally arrived. It really seemed that winter would be hanging on for a few more weeks, but it has gone out with a bang. My friends Norm and Elizabeth delivered their new boat, Averisera from Connecticut up to Boston, with only a short delay due to the Nor’Easter than was [...]
While I’m no longer a big fan of this time of year, I would like to wish my readers, friends, and family a Happy Easter or Passover, as appropriate. One of my favorite photos of this season is this one:
Today is my nephew Nicholas’s sixth birthday. He is very excited to be six. My sister had a massive party with tons of his friends. I avoided the party… that many five and six-year-olds are way too noisy for me. It is also the forty-something birthday of one of my best friends, Brian. He’s over [...]
This morning, I awoke to find another Valentine’s Day card from Gee. The world outside my window was blanketed in a fresh New England snowstorm. I guess it is her way of wishing me a Happy Valentine’s Day, and reminding me that not only is today Valentine’s Day, but also her birthday. She would have [...]
One of my favorite blogs to read is 37 Days, by Patti Digh. A recent post of her talks about the movie “March of the Penguins”, and talks about a young woman named Meta. The story really hit home for me, since Meta was about the same age as my identical twin and, like him, [...]
As many of my blog readers also read Tillerman’s Proper Course blog, I thought I’d share an interesting discovery. I am indirectly connected to him, and his family. I just got a comment, as did he, from his daughter-in-law, Anne. Anne just realized that I am Debbi’s little brother. Debbi and Kathy, Anne’s older sister, [...]