JTL

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Hey Mates,
I never knew him the way you all did, he would only tell me certain stories, but that's how things were with him. I always had a respect for him as my dad, and I his son so he would see things a little differently, and not tell me certain stories. But he would always make sure I knew to hold a certain respect toward my mom and sisters regardless of his relationship with them. That to me at times felt like a, do as I say, not as I do kind of thing, but I understood it, and made me respect him even more so. I guess it's the protective parent thing that he might have thought he missed out on that with me, but I felt it. I don't know how you thank a parent for that kind of support, because usually you want to do your own thing, and the thing he missed out on with me growing up was that insubordination part and having to deal with me in that respect. So, in a way, I guess I’m pretty lucky over that, because he would’ve kicked my ass for some of the shit I’ve done. I wrote this a couple days ago…
My Dad, he was an amazing guy. He had his battles as we all do, but he never gave up on his goals. He pushed through them until success, or had to change the pathway, to get to some other point, to continue forward. He did all that, while dealing with the hardships of personal family life issues and keeping compliant with rules and regulations in the many fields of work he dabbled in.
Born and raised in Euclid Ohio, along with six other siblings, he was a brother, a friend, and a son. He became a husband right out of school and very soon after a father to three children; however, prior to that, he became a licensed pilot. I can remember times as a toddler going flying with him. He had told me of a time when we were making a flight from Ohio to South Florida, when we were moving and relocating there, he said I asked him “Is God up here”, he said “Yes, yes he is”. He then described how big my eyes got with excitement. I don’t remember much of the flight, but he said it was very challenging for him and there were times he thought we were going to crash. While he told me the story I was kind of remembering some of it, and at the same I was excitingly enjoying the story. He had a way of telling stories that would put you at the edge of your seat.
While he was telling the story, it would start to seem like the story changed, but it was his way of making sure you understood a certain part and would then continue with the main story. He never left you wondering about fine details. It’s funny, because you’d be sitting there listening and thinking “c’mon! get on with the main focus here!!!” he had a way of making a five-minute conversation into a forty-five minute one. But at the end of it all you’d understand why, or just laugh it off with him.
One story that sticks with me is when he had to go retrieve an aircraft that was damaged, him and the crew he worked with had to repair it, then fly it back to be sold to someone. He said they had to modify it, so they can fly beyond its capable range. They ripped out all the seats and loaded it with twenty or more fifty-five-gallon drums of jet fuel, rigged up hoses going to the fill caps of the tanks out on the wings, and would watch the fuel gauges go down half way and start pumping fuel into the tanks with a hand-held pump!!!! WOW!!!! He thought for sure they would crash, but to their amazement it worked!! He said they had to do that because they didn’t want to land in any of the third-world countries along the flight path because they would have killed them and taken the aircraft.
He told me of another time when they were flying through some African country that was always at war and some of his friends and crew mates were planning a coup de gras to help some resistance fighters overthrow some regime in place, they asked him if he wanted in and offered him very large sums of money, with respect he declined and got off the plane at the next stop. The plane continued, to some other country where they were to get weapons. He found out later when the plane landed, the in-place government immediately boarded and took them all to prison at gun point. He said that was the best decision he’s ever made during those times.
There are so many good things to say about him, and they more so outweigh the negative for sure. He was into poetry, he liked, sci-fi, blue-grass music, he would listen to anything you wanted to play him, and would either say, “No, not for me” or would enjoy it. He would give anything a chance and understood how it sounds tasteful to one verses another. While working in Louisiana, he took me to Avery Island where you can quite literally taste the air that surrounds the island. After, we went to get a bite to eat at some hole in the wall bar that was known for hosting bands that played Zydeco style music, he started telling me some stories of going to watch these Zydeco bands. With a chuckle here and gasping outburst there he’d be laughing telling me how they sound. Their thick Cajun accents would dominate through the lyrics. He would say “At first you wouldn’t understand anything they were saying, but then after a couple beers, or drinks you’d start to pick-up on it, and would be some funny experience they encountered in their life in the swamp!!” he said it always brought a smile to his face, and it did make him smile just telling me about it.
His favorite author was Robert W. Service, he had recited some poetry to me, one of which I had forgotten about until Al told me about one he knew of, was “The Cremation of Sam McGee”. One of Robert Service’s quotes that he has said to people is:
“Be masterful of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it’s the grain of sand in your shoe”
Terry had mentioned one about flying or something and I found one named “Flight”. I found one named “A Grain of Sand, I’m sure there will be more I’ll find as time goes on, my dad was always saying how he lived like a hermit and was not very organized, but he knew what he knew, and he was never afraid to tell anyone his opinion.
Sometimes it wouldn’t go over so well, but I do believe he meant well when it came down to it. He wanted people to understand the severity of consequence and pushed the concept of being responsible for your own actions. We have had difference in opinion and that’s normal. There were times he’d drive me bonkers, he understood that, and would always brush it under the rug and start fresh. I see a lot of this in myself too. So, I’ll keep in mind to do the same and be a forgiving man.
He was very great full and knew how to enjoy the simple things. This aspect is what I really loved about him. I have made it a point to apply this trait more often in my own life. He was also super smart he could figure out any fault in many complex circuits or mechanical issues. He was referred to as “Easy Jack” in the field service industry because he made troubleshooting look so damn easy! You’d be looking at some malfunctioning thing for hours and be stumped, he’d show up and say, “Did you try this?”, and you’d be damned if that wasn’t the fix. He’d remind you of a specific troubleshooting technique by saying, “you can’t make a legitimate repair with an adjustment, the failed component must be found and replaced”. He said he couldn’t have said it better himself and adopted this quote. This quote he said, came from a guy named Randy La ’Daye, nick named Yoda, who I also had the privilege of working with at (ECO), Edison Chouest Offshore. He commissioned and demonstrated proper operation of the switchboards on many, many ships built during 2007 thru 2012 that are in use today for ECO catering to the offshore oil industry. He also fixed many issues on oil platforms that were so secretive he was restricted to be able to photograph certain things, which he said made it difficult to do his job. Sometimes he would be required by his company to take photos of the failed components for records.
After working offshore for so long, he started getting into sailing. He said it was like flying except it was one wing in the air, and one in the water. Ha ha, lol, he had a way of looking at things that only he could ever think of. This is where he would meet some of the coolest people he would ever meet. Terry Kerr, his wife Nish, and daughter Zoe, Darren Harvey, Dave Maguire, Shameer Qureshi, Ann O’Leary and other crew of the Mousetrap. They all had good respect for him and understood his quirky ways. Terry and Darren became my adopted brothers, and Dave was like an uncle / brother. I haven’t met Shameer yet, but I’m sure he would fall into the brother category, Ann was the first mate on the Mousetrap and was always after my dad to mind the boat and any dirt he had on his shoes, she is quite a lovely gal. He had a mutual respect for her and understood her position.
The Mousetrap was his favorite accomplishment when it came to a refit job. He took a massive over-engineered debacle of a ships electrical system and fixed it by re-engineering it. He wanted the owner Daniel Borel to start-from-scratch, but he wouldn’t because he wanted to use the boat sooner than the estimated time-frame of what my dad proposed. So he only let him do what was absolutely necessary. I am so glad I chose to be a part of it. I learned so much during this time with him, and most importantly I got to meet these awesome people.
I never got a chance to go sailing with him on his boat, but I did get to go on the sea trials aboard the Mousetrap. I’ve heard some stories from his best friend Al Hobbs, who is genuinely the best friend a guy could every have.
My dad was: silly, sweet, weird, bitter, bold, stern, smart, loving, daring, cool, exciting, and a licensed pilot, a licensed electrician, an electrical engineer, a Republican, he had a library card, a driver license, he was the Captain of his own sail boat, and he knew how to navigate by the stars, and above all he was a good honest man.
He will be greatly missed…