Left - David’s first boat, 1977 in Italy, at Lake Trasimeno, near Perugia, Italy.
David loved boats and when we lived in Italy, we would see the boats on sale at the local department store. There were small, medium and large boats. The middle size was about $40, so that’s what he got for his birthday. He used to love rowing around on the lake. About a year after he got his, I got mine and you can see me in the upper left.
When we were in town in Perugia, we would see the scuba gear in the local shops, including spear guns. Maybe this is where David got his scuba interest? He used to watch a lot of Jacques Cousteau and I’m sure that had a lot of influence on him.
I remember one hot summer evening, David and I were on the lake in our boats. We picked up some guests our age from the shore, actually they were girls, and we rowed into a maze of reeds. Don’t worry, it was all innocent. It was our project to row in there and act like we knew what we were doing as we navigated our way through the freshwater swamp. That was fun.
Last night I woke up about 30 times and couldn’t shake the family from my dream. I kept waking up and going back to sleep to the same weird dream. I knew they were gone, but they needed to land anyway and they were going to land in my living room (they were model airplane sized) and they would land so that they would fit into a black velour sheath that was a perfect fit for the fuselage. Bizarre, I know.
I’ve also been watching a lot of programs on PBS, The Universe, and a show with Morgan Freeman, Through the Wormhole, that talks about parallel universes. Then, a few days ago, I saw “Source Code” which also plays on the idea of parallel universes. It would be great to figure that all out, along with time travel, so that I could go and see them. I would love to see how Luke and Ryan look as grownups.
David looks alot like Luke in this picture. This is the same type of boat that I carried in my suitcase to Baja a few years ago. Such fun, great memories and your ideas and questions are intriging and thought provoking. The words “Forever Young” keep popping into my mind when I look at the many pictures. Thank you John for sharing another story about David as a young boy. Think you are right about his life and how it may have been greatly influenced from the experiences in his younger years. He certainly had a young family that supported him in the ventures and all loved them so much. We all have learned alot about life and living through sharing times with these wonderful 4.
Thank you John for sharing childhood stories… and dreams! I have had many dreams about them all too. Sometimes I think that we are so bound to the idea of the 12 hour clock and the calendar as the center of our existence, that maybe if we could just break free of this concept we would be able to explore parallel existences/universes. Maybe David, DeDe, Luke and Ryan are trying to help us with that from where they are now.
I like the vision of them in the little plane landing safely into a cozy sheath in your living room. Looking forward to the bonfire with everyone.
I love reading about David and Dede’s childhood’s. I understand so much more now about their passion for showing their children the world. Growing up as a world traveler impacts our world view so much. It makes me want to know more about my other friends formative years and see childhood pictures. Maybe this site can be an inspiration for us getting to know each other better. I think of the family every day and enjoy reading more about their lives and how each touched the rest of us. It helps with the sadness.