Remembering those who insipred us

[ststephen]

I'm gathering my thoughts for a memorial this weekend for my Dad who died last December. Of course I want to think about all sorts of personal family-oriented stuff. But also it's led me to think about the ways that he helped to inspire me in my wilderness/outdoor interests. I thought you all might find that inspirational as well and then I'd love to hear about your own stories of folks, either alive or deceased who helped fire your passions for the outdoors.

What's weird is that my Dad was not really an outdoor sports enthusiast at all. He and my Mom didn't like camping (I think it reminded them of what it was like to be young and poor). But the thing that he did that really sparked so many of my passions was to take me and Mom all over the US visiting National Parks and areas of natural beauty. We were just your average suburban family but he had a job that let him travel a little and every summer we drove across the US. While he never really wanted to do any significant hiking he was clearly in love with the beauty of our great country and he would endure hours of driving and crappy hotel beds and bad meals to share those places with us.

I think all of that must have started when he and Mom eloped and took their mini-honeymoon driving through Yosemite. He got hooked and our vacations were always about going back to those favorite places of his and finding new ones together. What an incredible gift that was!

Then he also had a passion for trees. He loved to garden and he also could wax poetically about a grove of cherry trees in bloom. I remember hunting through the woods behind our suburban development looking for baby Dogwood trees to transplant into our yard. That stuff helped me to remember to look for the beauty in the little things around us and not just the stunning mountain & canyon vistas.

The other area I have to thank him for was his huge patience in supporting me in all my outdoor interests. He didn't ski but he would drive me to the little ski hill nearby and sit in the bar reading his book all day so I could. If I wanted to climb/hike a trail or easy peak when we were driving around they always made time for me (and that made me want to do it as fast as I could!). He would arrange a climbing guide or class when they could and never complained about having to wait around while I was off having my adventures.

Dad - I love you and miss you and thank you for helping open up the world of wilderness and adventure to me.

So, tell me about your inspirational peeps!

[DiscGo]

This thread could quickly turn very sad, so I will just express my condolences and let you know that I am sorry for your loss.



Although I am inspired by most of you on this site, I can really tribute my outdoors enthusiasm to two people.

My brother inspired me to go up to Alaska in 2000 and my friend Mike up there took me for a hike every week. Those weekly hikes with my friend Mike, got me hooked.

[Deathcricket]

Ahh man, good thread! This might change the subject slightly cause my parents are still alive. I recall as a kid we did a "project" in our neighborhood that involved building a dam by some waterfall, then digging all the sand out to make a cool swimming hole in the summer. Here is a pic. I'm in the pink and black checkered shorts (front center) and my mom is in the blue bikini, and my dad is standing next to her in the black shorts and hippy beard. Looks like it was freezing cold that day, must be why no one is naked, haha. Anyways, these are some of the best memories I have as a kid, we would go play at the falls. All the adults would move the big rocks and us kids would help as best we could, then we all had shovels and would dig the sand out to make it deep enough to swim in. They we would play all summer in the water, they would let us try and catch gopher snakes without getting bit, frogs, jumping off rocks, swimming, etc. Just a total blast!

Now my parents are older and I have a son. I was hoping that they would be more inclined to join in with us and re-create the moments of my childhood and having fun all summer. But my parents are old now. The weird thing is, I still pictured them in my mind exactly as you see them in this picture. Young, ready to party, and have fun. But this is not how they are and I was a little bitter about it for some time. Why should my son be deprived of your company because you guys are overweight and can't hike 3 miles to the river? Why is the only thing you want to do is go out to dinner and something relaxing like movies? Kinda stupid I know. I was blinded and living in the past. But thenlast Nov, I got some advice from one of my heroes, Penn Jillette. It was on youtube, I bet I can find the message actually.... Anyways, he said you should get to know your parents "as they are" and not how you remember them. Accept them and spend as much time as you can, and not be sad while they are still alive for past memories. Kind of a "live in the moment" now speech, because you will have plenty of time to grieve later.

I really took that message to heart. It hit me like a ton of bricks actually. So since then I have tried my best to "get to know them as they are, not as they were" and it's been really solid advice. I accept that they can't hike to waterfalls and rivers like we used to do as children, and try to do that with my son, since those IMO are my best memories and hopefully I can re-create them with him. I still try and spend as much time with my parents and do stuff they enjoy and are able to do and not be bitter they can't do stuff I recall them doing when I was young. Sounds like such a simple thing, but I often wonder if other people fall into this trap and expect their parent to stay the superheroes they were when we were children.

Anyways, little off track but still on topic I think.

:2thumbs:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-2PcEmf7c4

Oh and here is me and my son building some outdoor memories. This is the first time my son was ever able to catch a live frog in a river close to our house in St. George. I didn't hink he would actually catch it, he had tried several times that day. Just turning 3 I wasn't sure he had the dexterity to nab one, they are hella fast. But he got it!! I will treasure moments like this even when I'm old and frail and unable to hike 3 miles to the river with my grandkids, hehehe. Hopefully my son is more understanding with me than I was with my parents. Nothing better than catching a frog at the river in summertime!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhYWLZYYmrE

[Felicia]

Wow - this is a great thread!

I love the Penn video - thanks for sharing. I already passed it forward. :2thumbs:

[MY T PIMP]

I lost my beloved older sister March 1st, 2006 from eventual complications of gastric bypass surgery. She was highly anemic and had heart failure due to a bad mixture of her perscription meds or possibly murder. Since my brother in law gave her the undeluted demerol shot that triggered cardia arrest. But nothing can be proven. She was only 2 years out of nursing school, had hit rock bottom and was well on her way up. I have never known that kind of pain until then. It's ironic my dog tulip had to be put sleep one day late of 4 year anniversary of her death. Her 15 year old son casey found her dead in the bathroom. My nephews and neice have never recovered and their father is a dead beat drunk who did little to help them through these last 4 years. At times I have wanted to do the unthinkable to that man, but forgiveness in this matter is long strenuous trial that I continue to work on every day. I regret that I and her's relationship was not better. The last day I spent with my sister we were having genetic blood tests done at the UofU. We had three tests and about 3 hours between them. During that time we went to the Zoo. It is a day I can recount almost every detail and I hold that memory as valuable as anything I have. I will miss you Suzanne. :cry:

[erial]

My father died last June. He had Alzheimers. He wasn't allowed to drive. I'd drive him to the Pine Barrens and then let him take the wheel. Gonzo afternoons.

[Cirrus2000]

My father died last June. He had Alzheimers. He wasn't allowed to drive. I'd drive him to the Pine Barrens and then let him take the wheel. Gonzo afternoons.
I don't have time to reply to this thread the way I'd like to right now, but this is cool. He sure must have enjoyed that. I know that I absolutely love to drive, and to lose that privilege would be hard. What a gift to give him. :2thumbs:

[erial]

Gift to myself as well. Memory of cruising along a dirt road leaves a bunch of bad times far behind in the dust.




My father died last June. He had Alzheimers. He wasn't allowed to drive. I'd drive him to the Pine Barrens and then let him take the wheel. Gonzo afternoons.
I don't have time to reply to this thread the way I'd like to right now, but this is cool. He sure must have enjoyed that. I know that I absolutely love to drive, and to lose that privilege would be hard. What a gift to give him. :2thumbs:

[R]

I was in a good place with both my parents when they passed. It was my privilege that they got to know my wife and our son before they died, and that Mitchell and Abby got to know them. They had a comfortable retirement life in Palm Coast, Florida. My father died in February 2005, and my mother died in July 2009.

Image: Joe Barron, my sister Nicole Barron, Sarah Jo Barron, and me, in Blue Springs, Missouri, 1996...

http://myweb.cableone.net/abbysm/pix/Barrons-1996.jpg