E-Mail Surprise

With so many junk e-mails coming at us every day, it's a wondrous event when something special pops up when you open an e-mail. These pictures showed up yesterday fresh from Hawaii. Ronnie Tiffany Kinder, my brother's daughter, sent me these two wonderful pictures.

The first is of my brother Russ and I sitting atop Mt. Adams in the White Mountains in the summer of 1974. In August, 1973 he and the entire family flew in from Okinawa, courtesy of the Marine Corps, for a wonderful two year stay at the University of Maine where he picked up his Masters Degree in History--well, military history, but what the hell. Still counts!! Of course, the first thing purchased were three snorkel jackets that absolutely buried the faces of Kellie, Rusty and Ronnie. Of course, there is a slight difference in windchill temps between Okinawa and Bangor, Maine!! Many, many camping adventures enveloped the entire family over the next two summers--wow, wonder if I can locate some of those old gems to stir the memories.

The second is of my dad, me and Sean at the ripe old age of 18 months. It was taken Labor Day Weekend, 1972 at Matunuck, Rhode Island. My father built a wondrous camp at Roy Caprenter's Beach in 1948 and many summers were spent there living by the ocean. Of course, if it rained, we young boys had to crawl into our bunks so there was room enough for our parents to move around--the word "tiny" covers it well enough.

No wonder Russ lives by the ocean in Hawaii and I live by the ocean on Peaks Island, Maine. Those ocean roots do run deep---straight from Matunuck to our far flung ocean sites. Many thanks Ronnie for the rush of memories. OK, I'm off in pursuit of some camping pictures!!