Meet Jack! He's the handsome dude on the left. The equally handsome guy on the right is a gentleman that I'm just going to call "Coach." He's sort of a local legend himself but that story is for another day. One of our purposes was to reunite these two old friends and hunting buddies. They met in 1955. Since their last meeting way back then, they had only seen each other once in 50 or so years. So it was time to get them together again.
Coach brought a bag of memory items to share with Jack.
I have five more images to share with you and quite a bit of story telling, all on the continue link below.
You don't get too far into a conversation with Jack without learning about his wife of 60+ years, Mary. Or, as he refers to her: Scrumptious. They definitely seem like the proverbial match made in heaven. With what Jack told me, it seems like their best years were living in Alaska, spending as much time in the back country as possible. They loved to hunt big game together. He has numerous pictures of her in hunting garb, and it sounds like the rougher and more remote it was, the better she liked it.
They built this cabin together with their hands, and not 30 feet from it is her final resting site. And Jack expects this to be his as well. Scrumptious and Jack, forever together right here, this seems very right to me.
Jack and Coach were really going at it here. Pretty much all your politicians, doctors, journalists and a host of other professions were getting a sound thrashing.
After I took this shot Jack said "Now that's not one of those new digitals, is it?" Understandable, since from the front a modern digital SLR cannot really be distinguished from a film body. "Yes!" I replied and showed him the image on the LCD on the back. He looked at Coach and said "Now THAT seems like a real advance doesn't it? That's just great."
The thing with Jack that is a bit unnerving is he's totally with it mentally. Based on the cruel way nature seems to treat us, you have a presumption that a guy in his 90's that doesn't move so well isn't going to be sharp. Not the case here. Jack has all the dates, all the memories. He knows what is going on in the world, despite living remotely.
Two people in my life, my grandmother and great grandmother, have made it into their 90's with both a body and brain functioning highly. With everyone else, one or the other goes. Which is sure sad.
The "Spirit of the Place" told me I needed a self portrait. This was the spot that was chosen for me. (Plus the table Jack had made was handy.)
Good friend of this blog Stephan Dietrich did some sleuthing and turned up a niece of Jack's, living in the Sacramento area. I emailed her and she was thrilled to hear news about her uncle. She has her own set of great stories and has a lot of love for him. "Jackie" as she calls him is the youngest of three brothers, the other two gone.
Two of my favorite things - wildflowers and jet helicopters
In closing today's post, a huge thank you to my friend Don without whom the day would not have been possible, of course. A very generous guy, I'm lucky and honored to be included in these adventures once in a while. He's making a big difference in Jack's life now. I have said before here on the blog, related to some of my volunteer work, that when you help others you actually end up feeling like you get more out of it than you put in. And I'm pretty sure that is how Don feels about meeting and helping this colorful man with a lifetime of epic tales.
I hope everyone will be able to say what Jack often says these days: "I have had a good life."
I figured this would be a five day series and today's would be the final post. But another image is speaking to me and I'm going to share that one with you tomorrow. As always your comments below are much appreciated.
