SHIVER ME TIMBERS

A few weeks ago, I posted a link to a song on the blog My Dad's Records. Today I returned there to dig through it a little and enjoyed a serendipitous moment that was a little too close to home to ignore. The blog is by a guy who is digitizing his dad's record collection, and taking the opportunity to have conversations with his dad about the music, album by album. His dad had/has pretty good taste, so it's kind of neat seeing the insights he passes on as an elder, as much as it is reading his son's interpretations.

Note: From here down, the rest of this post is about my Dad, so skip to the links at the bottom if you couldn't give a shit.

Where was I? Oh yeah, it got me thinking about my own Dad, who passed away a few years ago. He had lost pretty much his entire savings trying to start a business just after his retirement, and ended up with little more than Social Security to live on. He took on part time work to stow a little money away, and began brushing up on his sailing, something he had done as a teenager and young man, but not much since. He soon became competent enough to rent medium size boats and go sailing in the local bays. He looked for crewing opportunities, and landed a couple open water cruises with strangers looking for able bodied, albeit retirement aged, crew.

Then, with a little help from friends, he bought Aeolus, his own boat, living on it in a local marina, to cut expenses and to prepare it for a solo voyage. It took a year or so, but he finally got it in ship shape. The maiden solo voyage was to be up and down the coast of Baja California. He shoved off, remaining in contact with family and friends via mail and email, when he stopped at various marinas. Some of the stories he related in his correspondences were hilarious (though, perhaps, only if you knew him). In one letter, he told of being on deck in the middle of the night, buck naked and bathing, in the middle of the ocean. Out of nowhere, a helicopter appeared, shining a spotlight on him. Figuring that they might think he was in distress, he gave them the all clear, flipping the bird at the blinding light. In another letter, he related having caught a fish big enough that he couldn't possible eat it all, so he gave it to the people in the local fishing village. Later that night, he was below deck when he heard some clunking around and some animal sounds and when he ducked out of the cabin, he saw a villager delivering a live goat, tied at the hoofs, reciprocating his gift of fish. The person delivering the goat was so appreciative, and my Dad's Spanish so limited, that declining the gift took a great deal of effort. (Now, I really want to read the old letters again.)

After a while, my Dad had some health concerns, and came back to the U.S., leaving his boat in a Mexican marina for his return. His health worsened, and after briefly returning to Mexico to salvage his belongings and sell Aeolus, he returned to the states to live out the rest of his life.

So what do the songs below have to do with anything? Recently, I had a conversation with my sister, about my Dad's sailing and his unrealized long term plans. I mentioned that I thought that his wish was to die at sea, that it was his preferred "perfect way to go." She confirmed that it was absolutely his intention, reminding me that he had laid out provisions that would repay his friends that had helped him buy Aeolus. Back to the beginning, tonight, while perusing Dad's Records, I ran into a song, "Shiver Me Timbers" by Tom Waits, that has reminded me of my Dad ever since his passing, even without the recent confirmations of his intent by my sister. The song really should have been played at his wake. It seems so dead-on true to his spirit.

One of my Dad's favorite songs was Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down." He loved the line about picking out "my cleanest dirty shirt." It's one of the few songs that we ever got around to talking about. And that is why I like the blog Dad's Records. I hope that the guy realizes what a neat thing he's doing. I think it's neat, in a high praise sorta way.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Tom Waits - Shiver Me Timbers mp3 at Dad's Records
Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Morning Coming Down mp3 at HankUS1.com
Previous posts about Tom Waits:
Tom Waits and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Early Tom Waits: Live