Brothers and Birthdays

One of my favorite birthday presents was going to Hawaii.
(It was really just a vacation, but we called it my birthday present!)

Once I got a new camera!

Ages ago I got a guitar that I never learned to play,
no matter how much I practiced. (not much).
My guitar teacher was a bohemian type,
an intellectual (or completely withdrawn, I couldn't tell) complete with dark bushy eyebrows and beard.

The worst present I ever got was a Boston Whaler.
Yes, a boat, one of the first of their smaller designs. They usually made huge fishing boats.

My brothers had spent plenty of time on boats, ships, surfboards, anything that went way out in the water.

P. worked his way, shipboard, to Australia.
He lived with a family of brothers on a sheep ranch for a year.
They rode horses out in the bush, chasing sheep and getting filthy.
At night people had to dress for dinner.
Suits ~ out in the middle of nowhere.

W. was an Ensign in the Navy, a Viet Nam Vet with a bronze star.
I asked why he never told us any war stories,
considering that the Viet Nam war holds such an important place in our nation's history.
He was not forthcoming.

I asked how he got the bronze star.
He was embarrassed.

Finally he explained the dubious honor.

The American Ambassador to Viet Nam was on board.
They were traveling up river from the Mekong Delta.
One lone sniper shot one lone shot across the bow of the ship.
Every shipmate recieved the award.

I asked if he'd been afraid.
He said he was making popcorn as he had been in charge of Entertainment of the Troops that day.

Both brothers tried to teach me to sail.
I was terrified as we flew down the lagoon, tacking in and out of the wind. We were sideways! Racing down the waterway! I was riding with a thrill seeker! I wasn't thrilled, but I was making plans if we capsized.

W., the Navy Man, tried to teach me the ins and outs of sailing on a fair breezy day.
Tacking, heading into the wind, luffing, riding the wind, coming about. I was bored.
Didn't interest me a bit.

That boat sat upside down on the dunes in front of our house for many years, fading in the elements. Fading along with my father's desire for a differrent kind of daughter.
He was an artist, but he couldn't recognize one in me.

One of the best presents I ever received was an opal ring from my beau.
My future in-laws knew it was an engagement ring. I did not, but it was the beginning of a long adventure with my best friend.