I am happy to report that I finished the 3rd annual Memorial Day, “Hike” (from Rosario Beach dock to Bowman Bay and out to Lighthouse Point and back, 3.3 miles), “Swim” (from the dock to the beach), “and Swig” (a shot of boat rum, from the same bottle for all three years). This was preceded by a single-handed boat trip to Rosario Beach (20 minutes each way: my wife was with me, but she had her hands full with new puppy duty), and the day ended with backing the boat into the slip.
This event, the 3rd one in a row that I’ve completed, is dedicated to the memory of Charlie Turner and Tom Costen, the crew of Jakal 404, shot down on the second night of Operation Desert Storm. But I also do this event because it gives me an opportunity to reflect on how fortunate I am to be alive and to feel all life’s sensations, including pain and fear (and I felt plenty of each this year).
This year was undoubtedly the most difficult and dangerous so far, truly worthy of making it to year 20 since my Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
I relearned several useful things on this Memorial Day, notably how the next step is all that matters, and how to be productively afraid, as balance issues contributed to several near falls, only saved by trekking poles. I was also surprised to relearn how to accept help from others, this lesson after the swim into a near half-knot current tired me to the point that I promptly fell going up the narrow sand path leading to the dock. Fortunately for me, I fell right in front of a couple who offered to go up behind me on the second attempt.
It was a great day. This was also a fundraiser for either the veterans charity of your choice or the Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum (PNWNAM).
Cheers, Peter