A Sacred Boat

My dad's boat has found it final resting place; in my garden next to the honeysuckle bush. I don't know how many years my dad had this boat, has to be around 30 years? He was so fond of this boat and he loved fishing. About two years before he passed away I just had to go fishing with him at Mogadore Lake in this boat one more time. There were physical challenges for us both. I'm a 120 pound weakling, he was an 82 year old man with dementia. I wanted him to be okay, to be his normal old self. I wanted to share some form of familiar reality that we both knew.

So, there we were out in the lake, just the two of us. I thought about how strange it was that he could not, or would not sit still. When I was a youngster, he had to tell me numerous times to sit still in this very boat. At one point his leg was wrapped in fishing line, his pole was about to fall overboard and he wanted to change his position, again, when he said, "this is like fishing in a phone booth!" That statement made me laugh, made him laugh and before I realized it, we did share a normal everyday moment.

I knew that experience was a gift to me. Years later it still warms my heart. I miss my dad so much.

Finally, a special thank you to my brother Randy for bringing dad's boat to me. Love you.