I woke up at 5:30 every morning while at the beach just so I could see the sunrise. I might stay up late, but I never missed a sunrise with Dad over the last 10 years. This was my special ritual with my Dad on family vacation. Even though we stayed one house apart on the beach, we both came out on the decks close to the same time every morning. Dad was always neatly dressed, me on the other hand could have played a role in "The Walking Dead", even my clothes looked the part. Still this was our routine. Everyone else would be sleeping, including mom. Dad was always full of energy and both of us would walk to the pier. Surf City Pier was a 2.5 miles around the beach houses we stayed in. There were some mornings I fished in the Surf, while he continued his trek. I think he befriended every person he met along his stroll. The last few of years Dad and I began watching more Sunrises from the beach in front of the houses we were staying. This was because walking great distances had become increasingly more difficult for my father, even though Dad was otherwise in excellent health for a man his age. So instead of walking every day to the pier during the week, he might only walk half way and back. Dad always took time to walk down the beach each day with mom later again that morning and you guessed it "to the pier". My father suffered from a severe case of hammer toes and if you don't know what it looks like, it's similar to someone with crippling arthritis. Dad could have had the "hammer toes" corrected, however he decided not to because of his age. At this late stage in his life he felt it really wouldn't make that much of difference. I was amazed after seeing his condition that he could walk as far as he did. Yet my father had done so, covering the 2.5 miles with this condition for the past 12 years. He never complained once or used it as an excuse not to walk. Back home my father had a walking routine of 20 minutes each morning. Not wanting to worry mom about his whereabouts, he confined his walking to the garage the last few years, walking around the two cars that were there.I would have been bored to tears, yet Dad took pride in this.
Dad was always dressed very nicely anytime he was out in public, being on the beach was no different. Mother had instilled that habit in him and she always made sure all his clothes were neatly pressed and laid out for him for the next day. Over they years I managed to capture a lot of great pictures of Dad in those early morning hours at the beach. My father was one of those people who are very photogenic. He always had a natural, relaxed and content with life look. Then of course it was easy, because my father enjoyed life and people. He had experienced a very hard life growing up without a family, since his mom had died at an early age. He never spoke much of his childhood and I now understand why. Dad was one of 12 children. He enrolled in the Navy at age 17 and fought in the Pacific during WWII. One my proudest moments was seeing him go on "The Flight of Honor" a few years ago.
I always tried to snap pictures of Dad when he wasn't looking my way, whether at the beach or back home. To me these type of shots always made for the best picture. Every now and then my father would see me taking his picture, however Dad acted as though he didn't see me. The "Golden Hour" for taking photos at the beach, proved to be truly gold for me. The pictures I took of him at the beach over the years at time, are some of my most cherished. They are "priceless" because they did capture the essence of the man and anyone who ever met him loved.
My father didn't make the family trip this year. He passed away unexpectedly in mid November from a brain tumor. We decided to keep the family beach trip tradition, but a month earlier than usual. This was to accommodate my nephew's wife who is expecting her second child the first of August. We still plan to have another trip to the beach in July, however it won't be a complete family vacation since my nephew, his son and wife will not be along.
I knew heading on the family vacation to Surf City on Topsail Island this time would be hard on all of us, especially mom. Mother is beginning to show the signs of slowing down. My sisters and I know every family beach trip now could very well be a last with her too. Mother and Dad both were the very active types. Their worth ethic was impeccable. It all came from growing up on a farm during the Depression. Both were up at dawn everyday working non stop, because this is just what they did. The two were the exemplary example of love. Even Dad's last words before passing in his sleep, was "to take care of mom". Mother still tries to go from sun up to sun down. I do my best to pick up the routines of Dad for her, by mowing the yard, fixing anything that breaks, doing all the outside work. Yet this is just only represents a minuscule of what they have done for me over my life. I know this week's trip had to be hard to make for the first time without her husband of 67 years. Dad died the day before their 68 anniversary which would have been November 17.
Anyway when I arrived at the beach, I decided I couldn't let my routine of watch ing the Sunrises at beach die. I set my alarm because I wanted to be doubly sure. Still I really didn't need to because the last 10 years I've developed a knack of getting up a few minutes before the alarm goes off. Yet for some reason this time I was afraid I might sleep late. I just wanted to make sure I'd be out there, because I felt somehow Dad would be waiting there for me in spirit. I do believe "you never truly walk alone". I believe the people who loved you in the past are always there and you are never far from the thoughts of those who love you now. Dad had to be with me, because all the sunrises were beautiful and I had "no cloudy days". Over the years my father and I had missed a lot of beach Sunrises because of cloud covered days. There were times we might only catch 2 or 3 during a week at the beach. This time it was perfect, so I believe Dad asked God for a favor. If you continue to read on, I'm sure I know how Dad pulled it off for me!
Added to our Sunrise routine was always a trip to Surf City's "Hardees" afterwards. This was also a part of our routine after each Sunrise. Sometimes when it appeared to cloudy for a sunrise, we would head on to Hardees. The sunrise we thought we would missed somehow would appear over the soundfront behind Hardees. These were truly spectacular and sometimes they were even more vibrant than the Sunrise over the ocean. Over the years I learned to take my camera with me on all my morning trips to Hardees. Dad never went to Hardees for the food. My father loved to meet and greet. He was a true "people" person, the kind who never met a stranger. After our trip to Hardees we would return back to the beach and drink morning coffee with mom. Dad would always bring her and other family members a biscuit who were up.The mornings we didn't go to Hardees, mom would have breakfast waiting for Dad. This was their daily routine the whole time they were married.
A few years ago one of the strangers Dad had befriended at our local Hardees was inspired enough to write a story about him. The man my father met had a column in the High Point Enterprise Newspaper. I'm not sure if he wrote weekly or monthly since we don't get that paper. Because we live in Lexington a few cities over, we had no way of knowing about the article. Dad met so many people in his life time, that it was impossible to go anywhere without running into someone who knew him. My nephew's wife's mother just happened to catch this columnist article in the paper. She live in Thomasville which is adjacent to High Point, so she has always subscribed to the High Point Enterprise. We were all surprised when she had called my nephew's wife to tell them about the article they had written about his grandfather. Needless to say they called the rest of the family. Once we read the columnist's story, we smiled and said "that's dad". My father truly never met a stranger. Children and Adults all loved my father. He gave them all packs of crackers, so they never forgot his kindness. Few people realize even after 20 years of retirement, this all came at Dad's own expense. At every store, people went out of there way to help us, because of my father's kindness. Dad wasn't wealthy, but he believed in giving and loved to make people laugh and smile. The link to the High Point Enterprise newspaper article can be found by clicking this link
http://www.hpe.com/sports/offtheporch/x531238379/Grateful-to-be-a-Son-of-the-Rural-South
This year at the beach, I was hoping I might get my son to start the Sunrise tradition with me. It's funny how the cartoon above led me to writing more. Because this post was simply suppose to be a copy and paste with a little sarcasm directed at my son's sleep habit. NP as I call my son, is still in that phase were "noon thirty" is a time. I know eventually he will join me, I didn't join Dad for sunrises until his later years in life. My nephew who has the 3rd generation name sake as my dad, has been joining us for the sunrises since his marriage almost 10 years ago. Sunrise was the time he would walk their dog on the beach. He too had a special bond with my father from the time he was born and like me the beach mornings with his grandfather were "priceless". Dad and I were always out on the beach when my nephew would come along with his dog, since the beach house he built was a few blocks further away from where we stayed. While this year's first Sunrise without Dad was emotional for me, it was nice to see a familiar face. My nephew, a third generation of my father's name, was out there on the beach jogging with his dog. We both talked on the beach, as he jogged off to the pier and I was the one walking. Many years ago when I used to run, my father ran with me. Those runs later became walks for Dad and I would continue jogging to the pier and see Dad talking to people on the way back. The last years we both walked together. Watching my nephew jog down the beach, reminded me how the circle of life continues. In 10 more years my nephew's son will join his father for those runs and hopefully the tradition of our family vacation to Topsail Island will continue for generations to come. We've all been going since the late 1960's.
I know for a fact that I never saw a sunrise during my college years and if I did, it was only because I was still up from the night before. Like father like son, reminds me of the time Dad used to tell me while at the beach "I'm glad you are up in time to see the sunset". Sunrise's and Sunsets were something I took for granted at the age my son is now. Now with my own clock winding down, I realize how special each tick is. I look forward to the day my son will take in those sunrises with me just like Dad did. Even more I look forward to the day I'll get to reset the clock with my Dad once again. For the moment, I have to smile and laugh at the cartoon above, for I was once too was a "noon-thirty" person.
