Reading Barb's post on going boating reminds me of her Dad taking me and Greg skiing a few times a summer when he kept his boat in Syracuse. He had boating skills that I still awe at today. I only wish I could have raced with him on Lake Michigan in the 50's and 60's.
One of Garfield's favorite tricks was to pull Greg and I together and whip us all over Syracuse Lake until he had not only wiped both of us out but had made us loose our shorts in the process. If one of us lost our shorts, he wasn't satisfied until both of us were either suitless or they were around our ankles in the water! I can vividly remember jumping wakes and while in mid-air having him change directions and jerk me right out of my skiis!
Greg and I used to be able to calculate our speed based upon the length of the ski rope and the boats forward speed and our angle of attack. My high school geometry teacher had taught us that (he only lived a few doors away) On one particular occasion, Motts, Grace and I were with The Chief (see nicknames post) Motts and Grace were spotting and The Chief was driving. The Chief told them I was going to break sixty. I don't know if I did, but it sure felt like it! I glided off of the rope from the other side of Syracuse Park to our pier! I was more concerned with hanging on for dear life and not wiping out, than I was what my MPH was.
My Dad taught me how to work, but his oldest brother taught me how to PLAY! Garfield loved life and he lived it when he was able to before his accident. I loved him dearly and will always remember him as my favorite fun-loving uncle.
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I miss him too, The four of us went on a lot trips together and had lots of fun. He and I used set around a campfire, just the two of us talking until the wee hours of the morning. One special time I remember was camping in the Pocono Mountains in North Eastern Pennsylvania and seeing all the wild life come out at night as he and I sat around the campfire. I have never seen anything quite like it again.
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