Stories in Life. On the Radio with Mark and Joe.
Mark and Joe interview people with stories that affirm your belief in the goodwill, courage, determination, commitment and vision of everyday people.
Our primary goal is that, through another person's story, you will find meaningful connection no matter your place in life. We intend that the stories we select will be inspiring and maybe help you laugh, cry, think or change your mind about something important in your life.
Stories in Life. On the Radio with Mark and Joe.
Heaven on Earth: The Gift of Enduring Friendship with Skipper Gary Anderson
Death often reveals what truly matters in life. When our friend Gary Anderson passed unexpectedly last October, we found ourselves reflecting on the extraordinary power of enduring friendship and its ability to shape our lives in profound ways.
This special episode brings together the voices of Gary's longtime friends to celebrate a life well-lived through stories, laughter, music, and shared memories. From high school connections to sailing adventures on Lake Superior that spanned decades, we explore the qualities that made Gary such a treasured friend – his protective nature, problem-solving abilities, sense of adventure, and gift for bringing people together.
Music flows throughout this tribute, serving as both backdrop and vehicle for memory. Friends recall sailing trips where Van Morrison provided the soundtrack to their "heaven on earth" moments – those perfect instances of togetherness where nothing exists beyond friendship, conversation, and natural beauty. Through these recollections, we witness how friendship helps navigate life's unpredictable waters, with Gary's expertise as a sailor mirroring his approach to relationships – prioritizing safety, enjoying the journey, and weathering storms together.
The heart of this episode lies in its gentle reminder about life's fragility and the importance of expressing appreciation for our friends while we can. As one friend reflects, "When you lose somebody that you've spent such quality time with... waking up to another day is such a gift." This perspective invites you to consider your own friendships – how you're nurturing them, what you contribute, and whether you're making sufficient time for these vital connections.
Listen to this celebration of friendship, then reach out to someone important in your life. Like a muscle needing regular exercise, friendships require attention to remain strong. Who in your world deserves to hear "I love you, man" before the boat comes in?
Welcome to Stories in Life. You're on the radio with Mark and Joe. We share stories that affirm your belief in the goodwill, courage, determination, commitment and vision of everyday people.
Speaker 2:Our goal is that through another person's story you may find connection. No matter your place in life. The stories we select will be inspiring and maybe help you laugh, cry, think or change your mind about something important in your life.
Speaker 1:Join us for this episode of Stories in Life.
Speaker 3:I heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord, you don't really care for music, do you? Well, it goes like this the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift, the baffled king composing Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah hallelujah.
Speaker 4:Well, your faith was strong, but you needed proof. You saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty in the moonlight.
Speaker 3:Oh, it threw you. Well, she tied you to her kitchen chair.
Speaker 4:She broke your throne and cut your hair. And from your lips she drew hallelujah.
Speaker 6:I remember when we'd be up at his cabin or out sailing, thinking that it just doesn't get any better than this. You know, you're with your friends, yeah, and you're enjoying the conversations, you're enjoying the weather, you're enjoying whatever, but just being together with friends, it just, you know, sometimes they talk about, is there actually heaven on earth? You know, are you actually in those good moments experiencing heaven? And I kind of think we are. You know because I couldn't think of anything a few things that are better than that being with your friends, having a great time being in a nice place, especially like being out on Lake Superior.
Speaker 6:There's nothing else around but sky and water and no one actually knows where you are, no one can get a hold of you, and you're just surrounded by your friends. And the love and just the acceptance of who you are and just being able to enjoy that time was so special for me.
Speaker 8:We heard a lot of Van Morrison yes, we did, yes, we did.
Speaker 2:Probably A lot of Van Morrison. Yes, we did. Yes, we did.
Speaker 8:Probably, and certain tunes, you know. It just went so well with our surroundings, yeah, the movement of the boat or the peacefulness of Anchorage at night, and all of that was so positive, with the exception of one night. Nobody would get up and turn the stereo off.
Speaker 2:For Katie Lang. Katie Lang singing Hallelujah.
Speaker 8:Yeah, I remember that too. Ruined a good song for me. But these are things that we remember and talk about. We'll always have.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as Joe and I looked at programs for this year, we considered a series of programs dedicated to friendship, the quality and value of good friendships. Do you have friends that you value? How do you make time for these friends? What do you do to contribute to those friendships? There's various reports recently that we have fewer friends and commit less time to friendship than in the past. Is this true? For you, this episode provides a reflection and a window into a long-term friendship that several of us have had with Gary Anderson.
Speaker 2:Gary was featured in a Stranded on an Island in Lake Superior episode that we did previously. Gary died unexpectedly on October 12th so we went back into our archives to pull a number of recordings that he completed with us in April of 2023. You will hear outtakes from these recordings in this episode. Music is a really important part of our friendship together, so in this episode you will hear a great deal of music in the background and played throughout our episode. We hope you enjoy that, but our goal in this episode is to give you an opportunity to hear the voices of his friends and their experience in this friendship with Gary. We think this is a very important episode in our series and are really grateful that you are here listening to it.
Speaker 8:Everybody's looking at me. I think that's good. I guess I'll say something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you should say something now, bob, I'm looking at you.
Speaker 8:The very first play that Apollo did was the Crucible, and Gary had a part in that and that was right away in the fall. And then he was also in the musical. I directed the choral program at Apollo, but Gary was not a student of mine, but he was in the musical of Finian's Rainbow.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 8:That spring we always did spring musicals, so I didn't really get to know him very well. I coached him a little bit on some of the singing that he had to do for the role. Then I probably didn't see him again until Mark and I and Gary all took a class, I believe in the spring of 82, at the lab school I think it was on the St Cloud State campus and at that point it found out that Gary was married to Mark's sister, jody.
Speaker 9:Right.
Speaker 8:Then, right away that year, we did our first sale on Superior, chartered a boat out of Port Superior, superior. South of Bayfield and I look at the pictures from those days. I don't know if that first sale we had pictures, but Gary being Gary, he always had the top of the line camera, so some of the photos were pretty decent. We all had a lot more hair and no gray hair. He was such a likable guy that you felt like you'd been his friend for a long time. Yeah.
Speaker 8:And at that time I was amazed that he was just a few short years out of college and seemed to have it going on for sure, had a good job about making money already. I was very impressed. Mark and I had already kind of become social buddies. Mark taught at Apollo along with me. We both started that first year. We've been good friends ever since.
Speaker 2:So I know I'm responsible for gary meeting jody because we were yes, uh, we were bar hopping at the corner bar, okay, and we were going to go over to either the press or the carpet. I think it was the press that we went into and jody was with a another teacher that I knew that I had classes with. Gary and Jody met that night and Gary followed me into an apartment that I had left. He shared it with Greenwood and Greenwood was gone or something, I don't know, but anyway, the four of us went over to this apartment. I didn't want to be with the girl that I was with, but Gary really wanted to be with the girl he was with and I rode with Gary, so I had to wait.
Speaker 8:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. One of those things.
Speaker 8:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I had to wait and pretend I liked this girl.
Speaker 8:We've all been in that oh boy.
Speaker 2:Oh boy, oh boy, that's a friendship, isn't it?
Speaker 1:That's a friendship. I that's a friendship, isn't it? That's a friendship? I waited.
Speaker 2:I waited and waited, but anyway yeah. So, I'm responsible for that, but the rest is Gary's responsibility after that.
Speaker 9:Gary was just such a wonderful friend and the bonus was he was a brother-in-law, so we got to see each other at family gatherings and that sort of thing and, as Bob said, it was really the sailing experience that I think brought us together. And I remember taking a sailing course at the lab school in the evening. Who was that gentleman who taught that? He was the librarian or the media person that.
Speaker 8:Gene Campbell.
Speaker 9:Gene Campbell. That's right, gene Campbell.
Speaker 8:And he had a boat called Cracker Jack, cracker Jack, and I think the dinghy was surprised, wasn't it? Something like that, yeah.
Speaker 9:And so we took these night. We had these night classes I can't remember what night two and a half three hour classes and Gene would regale us with his sailing stories. And then it culminated. Taking the class culminated in going out on the lake for an overnight sail and some kind of certification for boats up to 30 feet or something. Fortunately there were better crew captains than I would ever be. I was a jib monkey. I would do whatever was required to keep the boat afloat. But that was really the bonding experience, I think being out on the lake and just having a wonderful time, wonderful time the lake and just having a wonderful time.
Speaker 9:Wonderful time. And you know when you lose, when you lose good friends like that unexpectedly, it really makes you think about all that they contributed to your life and there's definitely a void. But you live off of the great memories and the things that happen and that's the legacy that I suppose any of us can leave behind is just having been a good friend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was listing words for Gary in particular, and the one that kept coming to the top is protector.
Speaker 5:You know he had this kind of guardian type role with his friends guardian type role with his friends um, you know, he was, um you know, to a fault like getting ready to go out, to go out to the islands.
Speaker 2:Remember how it would be like 45 minutes while he found everything that was on the safety list yeah, just drove me nuts, but, but he would find everything and then you could go yeah and I think he did that with his friends and his family and I think even at work, his friends at work would say he was really a good guy to work with.
Speaker 2:You know, they liked working with him. Yeah and um, but yeah, project man, uh, the number of times we were out on the water and something happened. And boy, you're lucky to have him along, because he'd slow you down and he'd start asking you questions and you'd start looking through things and get a different perspective from him. But yeah, the word that kept coming up at the top was protector. He had good work ethic.
Speaker 9:He was an adventurer. He liked adventures that's a good word. Protective because uh, and, and wanted to make sure that everybody was safe and felt secure yeah I don't know how.
Speaker 9:I don't know how in the world he talked my sister, jody, into going up in a plane with him early on. I mean, this is my sister who used to have to ride in the front seat because she'd get car sick and was not a big fan of flying, but somehow he convinced her that he would take her up in a plane. And I don't know where they were going, somewhere up there.
Speaker 2:Well, I think he picked her up at school.
Speaker 7:Oh, that could be. Yeah, flew up to Staples to take her to a Bonnie Raitt concert.
Speaker 2:Right, wasn't that the story? Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 8:You think you've got a good plan, you can top it, no matter what. Yeah. I mean a girl that you just started dating. Go out and pick her up from work and take her in the opposite direction to the cities to see a concert yeah maybe it wasn't saint cloud I think it was saint cloud.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, it was at the paramount theater right.
Speaker 8:Did she know he was going to come in a plane?
Speaker 6:yeah, she knew she had arranged to have her where she told the other teachers and all the female teachers came to the landing strip to see Gary come in and then take Jody off.
Speaker 2:What a guy huh.
Speaker 6:The thing I liked about Gary is that he was always improving.
Speaker 10:I mean again.
Speaker 6:I knew him from high school and I roomed with him for a year at the U and then we kind of lost touch a little bit after graduation. But then we got back together and it seemed like every time you met Gary he was doing something new and it was just also admirable that you know he was taking on these challenges, things that I would never think about trying to attempt.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he did it, and then he would master it yeah and it was just uh always kind of blew me away yeah, well, the first project like that that struck me was rebuilding his volkswagen engine in his garage. You know, and there was no youtube then there were only paper manuals. There wasn't. There weren't laptops. You didn't go look up something on the laptop and I to this day I still can't figure out how did he do that he had. He blew a cylinder in a four-cylinder engine and replaced the piston and rebuilt it in his garage. You know, if that was me, the parts would still be laying there.
Speaker 6:Well, plus, you know and I mean he was he was busy at work. He had this job that was very demanding and at the same time, you know, he was raising a family.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and how he found time to do all this stuff yeah, it's just incredible yeah, so the other, the other word that I had was connector, um. So we obviously got connected through sailing, which was so much fun. But then if you look at celebration of life and people that showed up, there were a lot of people there connections from high school, work, from, I suppose, church in some ways uh, family but a lot of people that he was connected to um and some of those people I hadn't stayed in touch with over over the years.
Speaker 6:You know it's interesting, um, he did that really well too well, the thing that I also was aware of uh g is that he would talk to anybody. You know, you stop at a gas, you just fill up, and he'd be talking to the guy next to you about his vehicle, you know, and he didn't have any qualms about it. He enjoyed doing that. I think that was just amazing.
Speaker 9:I always got a kick out of the fact that he knew the postal worker who delivered the mail in Ramsey and so whenever they were going south or on a vacation or something like that, he'd always make sure he spoke with the postal worker about saving the mail or stopping the mail or whatever. Yes, all those connections. And there were people from Big Sandy Lake, neighbors from the lake cabin, who made an effort to be at the celebration as well, and yeah, so many good things. One of his last building projects was to put up a free library and he somehow talked the people who owned I think it was Sather's store up there into letting him take one of those wall-mounted phone kiosks. Oh sure, because they no longer used it.
Speaker 9:So Gary talked him into letting him take that and brought it home and then thought, well, the best place to mount that would be on a telephone pole. So they were replacing poles up in that area. So of course he went over and ingratiated himself to the pole crew and I still remember them. He said well, can I get just a half a pole? No, sir, if you want the pole you've got to take the whole pole. So he's got this entire pole that had to be cut down to size, mounted the phone kiosk on it, put some kind of a sun. I think he had some kind of a solar panel lighting device on it.
Speaker 9:So it would light up and stay lit during the night, and then Jody and Gary stocked it with books and people would stop and take a book. He was so proud of that project. That's a good example of wanting to give back, I think, to other people too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, he had a generous side of him that you know would come out like that. I think you know, and it started probably because Jody had all these books to give away, yeah, children's books, so why? Don't we put a little library out?
Speaker 9:on the street. Why?
Speaker 2:not, why not, why not?
Speaker 10:My early sailing rig behind my bike and it worked real well. So that was the initial sail and then I had a friend down the block and his father had a boat over in Bidet Makassar, or formerly known as Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, and I got to ride on that boat several times and it was really enjoyable and to feel the harness of the wind on the sails is just incredible. And of course that boat you could take and turn and tack into the wind and actually make progress in all directions.
Speaker 1:But that really whet your appetite.
Speaker 10:It sure did. It sure did whet my appetite. And so, some years later, you know I'm a pilot and was thinking about what else could I do in working with airfoils, which a sail really is it's a giant airfoil and so I ventured into some sailing based on that and took a class at St Cloud State University on sailing and was able to on my checkout ride on Lake Superior aboard the sailing vessel Cracker Jack pass and was able to start chartering vessels at that time Were you a Husky.
Speaker 1:I was a Husky yes, oh man, I knew I liked you.
Speaker 4:So was I.
Speaker 1:And now it's time for Stories in Life. Art from the heart, deep thoughts from the shallow end. Each episode, we bring you a poem, a song or a reading, just for you.
Speaker 2:This is a poem I wrote on November 5th in the loss of Gary as a friend. It's called the Sound of a Train. The sound of a train beckons. I must go. The end of goodbyes. We start anew. I must go, no more. Hey, how you doing, man? I wrestle with the permanence. Once decades, now days. Once chance, now certainty. He visits me with the wind. His spirit blows hard. Today. I say hello and wait to hear back. Oh, won't you stay?
Speaker 12:Stay away from your own world. Don't ever stray. Stay so far from your own world, cause the world is so cold. Don't care nothing for your soul. Use it with your own words. Don't rush away.
Speaker 4:Rush away from your own words. One more day, one more day, with your own ones.
Speaker 12:As the weather's so cold, all can nothing for your soul You'd share with your own ones. There's a stranger and they're standing by your door. Might be your best friend. Might be your best friend. Might be your brother. You may never know. I'm going back, going back to my home world.
Speaker 2:Over the last 10 years Gary got back into flying small airplanes and he was very proud of his certifications and the number of hours that he gained by getting into that flying.
Speaker 14:One of his friends, rob Haglund, had this to share about Gary Any other time we were flying together, if there was something that uh say we were doing, an unusual landing or a real strong crosswind or something, he was always there to point out and brag about how, how well that I handled something. Yeah, and he was, he was just like that. He was such a great guy to where he was always complimenting you and always making sure that that that he, that I knew that he cared. Yeah, in fact, when we were, every time we were together, the whenever we'd leave each other, we'd always hug each other and I say, you know, love you, gary, or you know, see you later, or whatever, and he'd always hug me and say, love you, man. Yeah, and you know, we're just as you get older and you have that kind of relationship. Yeah, I guess you're not afraid to show your emotions right, which you know. Earlier in my life I wasn't like that, but now I appreciate those friendships.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's. One of the themes we wanted this year was how can we help other men, but also people in general, just develop and maintain these long-term friendships because of the power of that tightening of that relationship over the decades. Exactly.
Speaker 14:Gary was a very loyal friend. He was and he brought people together. He did, he was also a connector. He brought us together, you and me. Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 14:Well, you know, that's another thing that's so special about our relationship is we go back so far so we can. We can reminisce and laugh about things that we experience as teenagers. Yeah, and you don't have that with, with, uh, very many people, no. And then when you have a special relationship, like we've had, to not only share the present times but to share those past memories, that's very special.
Speaker 3:I don't know what it is to be free and I cry when you say that you can't free me. I just can't go on. Why can't I be free?
Speaker 10:Why oh?
Speaker 2:wonderful One thing about Gary. I've known you for over 50 years. Gary is a terrific problem solver. Like if we had some kind of challenge come up today. You want Gary in the room to help you figure it out.
Speaker 1:That's why he's a CPA too problem solver and a pretty adventurous guy for a CPA, I think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, you were probably.
Speaker 10:you were probably in the Aero Club at St Cloud State University probably you were probably in the Aero Club at St Cloud State University. Yes, I was. Mark Obtained my pilot's license through the Aero Club. At that time this is in the early 70s you could rent an aircraft for $6 an hour with fuel, and so it really didn't take too long or too many dollars to get your pilot's license, which I did.
Speaker 2:That's pretty cool. Good for you. So what brought you to Lake Superior? I mean, that's like intimidating kind of body of water, extraordinary weather patterns, deep cold, that's one thing sailing on Lake Calhoun, it's another thing sailing on inland ocean.
Speaker 10:It sure is. Lake Superior holds one-seventh of all the fresh water in the world. It's quite amazing why Lake Superior Well, that's where the checkout ride was for my captainship to be able to charter was in the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior, and I had never spent any amount of time on the water around the Apostles, but I had driven by there many years before that, and anytime you look at a body of water and you see waves rolling in and you look out and you lose a horizon, it's pretty amazing to see that kind of body of water, and so that's always intriguing to me, and so I got checked out to sail in the Apostles and that's what.
Speaker 2:That's where most of my sailing has been since and a check ride a little different than flying airplanes. What did you have to do to get checked out to charter a charter a sailboat?
Speaker 10:well, the the first thing that you learned how to do was to notice, with a, with a sailboat, they're built to glide through the water and so they're aerodynamically, if you will, suited to flow through water with little friction. And so the first thing you learn is how does a boat stop on its own in the water? And so you cut the engine. Well, well, how far is it going to push forward until it stops? And so that's the beginning of learning how to dock one of these big boats, because you don't have, if, if your engine isn't working, you need to understand how to stop them. And then we began some life, uh, man, overboard drills, which is very important. And then we got into how to handle sails, and so it was a process of going through all of that.
Speaker 3:Thank you. If my words did glow With the gold of sunshine and my tunes were played On the harp of the strong, would you hear my voice Come through the music? Would you hold it near as if we're your own? It's a hand-me-down. The thoughts are broken. Perhaps they're better left unsung. I don't know, don't really care. Let there be songs to fill the air River in still water, when there is no pebble tossed, no wind to blow. Reach out your hand If your cup be empty. If your cup is full, may it be again. Let it be known Again. Let it be known there is a fountain that was not made by the hands of men. There is a road, no simple highway, between the dawn and the dark of night, and if you go, no one may follow. That path is for your steps alone.
Speaker 9:Billy Collins wrote this poem called Berift. Berift, you know, to suffer a loss. It's got a little bit of a twist to it though. So he writes. I liked listening to you today at lunch as you talked about the dead the lucky dead you call them, citing their freedom from rent and furniture. No need for doorknobs, snow shovels or windows in a field beyond. No more railway ticket in an inside pocket. No more railway. No more tickets. No more pockets. No more bee chasing you around the garden. No more you chasing your hat around a corner. No bright moon on the glimmering water. No cool breasts felt beneath an open robe, more like an empty zone that souls traverse, a vaporous place at the end of a dark tunnel, a region of silence, except for the occasional beating of wings, and I wanted to add, as the sun dazzled, your lifted wine glass, the sound of the newcomers weeping Beautiful the sound of the newcomers weeping Beautiful.
Speaker 9:You know, to me this poem says appreciate the daily beauty of the northern lights, a sunrise, good food good conversation, good friends, because that's the beauty of life. That's the beauty of life. That's the beauty of life. None of us knows for sure what lies on the other side, if anything but this perspective of maybe when we die, we miss those things that we took for granted in life.
Speaker 9:You know, I love that no cool breasts beneath an open robe, and then that line about as the sun dazzled, your lifted wine glass, the sound of the newcomers, yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm with you, steve, on that heaven on earth kind of experience in nature. There is something to that being out in nature with your friends.
Speaker 9:I don't know. Here's the thought, too, that I probably should have included more time. When you lose somebody that you've spent such quality time with and stuff, waking up to another day is such a gift. You know, it's just. It's just to me. It's like I I find myself thinking well, here's a day that gary doesn't will not have, at least from our understanding. Yeah, um, and so everything from a good cup of coffee to the beauty of the sun, and you know it's just, we get to enjoy those things and maybe we should take more time to appreciate what we've got. That kind of heaven on earth.
Speaker 10:You know we were talking about?
Speaker 9:I mean, we were talking about being out on the lake, and you captured that so well, steve. That business about God. Does it get any better than this? I mean being surrounded by good friends, good food, good music, good wine. I think everybody slept pretty damn well on the boat, and then we'd be up for breakfast and coffee, usually, usually Well, and that's the thing. Remember, Gary was the first one to drop off immediately.
Speaker 6:So I think he was enjoying it to the utmost yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, june, the sale you couldn't go to. You had a pressing need. And at 1230, 1230 am, he says hey, anybody want to play cards? Yeah. I said, Gary, it's 1227. I'm going to bed. Also.
Speaker 9:Or we'd put on those wonderful DVDs or whatever of guitar players or something from the latest thing, and we're all stretched out and different, and you look over and there's Anderson. Yeah, he's gone. Wiped out from having been up early, made breakfast to everybody, put together a batch of that spaghetti sauce that had to simmer all day long, making sure everybody got fed, that the wine got poured or whatever. And then he wanted to make sure you had plenty of entertainment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, steve McQueen. I've got a Steve McQueen movie I want to show you. Yeah, yeah, oh, oh.
Speaker 11:Got the news this morning, knew it'd be a tough day. Summer's so much larger than life. Can't believe they could pass away. When it comes to country music, he's the world. And it wouldn't be all it is without Merle that he won't ever be gone.
Speaker 11:His songs live on A fugitive and a branded man. Mama tried to understand. Left us a lifetime of song and he won't ever be gone. We were friends right from the start and we shared some high times. I would sing some songs he wrote. He would sing a few of mine. The music made us brothers till the end. If not a day goes by that I don't miss him. He won't ever be gone. His song will live on Rattling fever and the way I am Blue collar blues for the working man. We'll be singing him back home from now on and he won't ever be gone. He would never be gone. His songs live on A fugitive and a branded man. Mama tried to understand. Left us a lifetime of song. He won't ever be gone. We'll be singing him back home from now on. He won't ever be gone.
Speaker 10:I really like the problem-solving aspect of sailing. That's what really intrigues me the most, and being with different crew members is also really something I enjoy because I learn so many new things with new acquaintances that I bring aboard as crew members, and so that's what led into over that 10 year span I put on 70 days of sailing in the Lake Superior area.
Speaker 1:Now, do you think you need to be a certain kind of person to get into it like you did? I mean, how old were you in 1982?
Speaker 2:oh boy you're asking a tough.
Speaker 10:That's a tough question.
Speaker 1:I think you were somewhere around 28, 27, something like that maybe thought you could handle anything back then, yeah, yeah, but uh, you know, the type of person is what I'm, you know, I would never undertake that, that's not in my DNA wheelhouse, of that perhaps sure sure yeah there's something about you, that you like that challenge, that you're kind of challenged by the challenge itself right, right, the challenge.
Speaker 10:And in the unknown yeah, the unknown you don't know what's going to happen. You can anticipate a day is going to go like this and it takes a left turn along the way, and how do you deal with that? That's what's intriguing to me. I like those kinds of things that happen Emergencies, if you will because it gets the brain working and you problem solve your way out of that situation.
Speaker 2:So we know we're taking our listeners to this story of being stranded. So I'm just curious what were some of the other challenges that you had in those early sailing years that led to your competency to manage a situation where you are stranded on the island and away from your boat?
Speaker 10:So many different experiences happen along the way, and I keep a logbook of all my sails and some of those highlight items, if you will.
Speaker 10:I can recall in my early days, in one of my early charters, we weren't more than five miles from the port and we had a sudden squall line of storm come up on us. So I sent the crew down below to get their fall weather gear on and I stayed topside to run the boat and the squall line hit before they were back topside and we ended up tearing a mainsail in half because the wind was so fierce. And so you know, things like that can happen. Certainly, storms are a huge consideration out in Lake Superior, and so that's probably the thing that is the most scary in terms of being a skipper is how to handle storms. But other things can happen too mechanical problems, you lose an engine, and how do you figure out how to get back to the port without an engine? It is a sailboat, you can sail it, but you have to remember that this area is so huge and so vast and the weather can be so severe. It's always good to have some backup solutions to problems.
Speaker 2:So you know, one of the things I think about is a lot of people when they go to a vacation a few days away, four days away, a week away, they're going to be in the hotel. There's going to be a phone, you know. But you're talking about being out in the Apostle Islands, 15 miles from Bayfield. It's remote. You were doing this at a time when there weren't cell phones and there was no telephone access. You had to spend the night anchored out there, regardless of the conditions that you're presented with from the weather. So I mean, it's a very courageous kind of thing to do for recreation.
Speaker 10:Great, but there's also a wonderful side to that, and that's sharing a great meal on board a boat that you've cooked, and so this isn't a Frankfurters and beans kind of sailing. I prefer to do some nice cuisine cooking, treating the crew to a great meal that's all part of it and listening to wonderful music out in the open water. This area is so remote and so peaceful. It just is inspiring to be part of nature, and so that's what I enjoy about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's really a powerful part of that overall experience and it is so close to us, right Living in the Midwest it's this beautiful freshwater lake with these beautiful places to sail, yeah.
Speaker 13:What you gonna do on judgment day. Time to run out now and you can't stay Screaming and crying. You got to go Telling St Peter, won't you open the door? Yes, I'm coming door. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Just like my time ain't long. When I die, you can bury me Troops. Don't women hit my head and feet. You poke my arm across my chest. You tell my friends that I'm going to rest. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Just like my timing. When I'm dead, right here in my grave, you're gonna be sorry that you treat me like a slave. There's no one can take my place. You're gonna cry your blues away. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Yes, I'm coming. Just like my time ain't long.
Speaker 9:It was really incredible, but yeah, so many good memories from both places.
Speaker 8:There was that element of sharing that brought so much happiness to everybody, because there was always music on. All these guys were rockers. They knew Mark and Steve as archival knowledge of the history of rock and roll, and so that made it a lot of fun for me listening to everybody's music.
Speaker 8:And, gary, would you know, build basically a sound system that you could take portable on a boat and so many times now if I happen to hear, you know, a tune from one of those trips just brings it all back in a wonderful way. And there were favorites, of course, but we heard a lot of Van Morrison, yes we did, yes, we did. Probably, and certain tunes. You know, it just went so well with our surroundings. Yeah.
Speaker 8:The movement of the boat or the peacefulness of an anchorage at night, and all of that was so positive, with the exception of one night nobody would get up and turn the stereo off.
Speaker 2:For Katie Lang. Katie Lang singing Hallelujah. Yeah, I remember that too.
Speaker 8:Ruined. A good song for me, but these are things that we remember and talk about. We'll always have those times and just memories of somebody doing something that brought us all.
Speaker 2:Tremendous amount of laughter.
Speaker 8:Tremendous amount of laughter Just never quit Laughing so hard, you're crying. Gary had a laugh that I can just hear him doing it. That, oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh yeah. That, yeah, I could just hear him doing it now and a big grin on his face.
Speaker 2:You know the early years of sailing. Some of it was because we couldn't afford to go during the regular season, we needed the discount. But the fog, you know the, the experiences with fog. Or making a run to isle royal in lescargo, you know it. Um, I have these memories of uh being at the helm in fog. And there's this one particular time we were heading from, I think from a point on Isle Royale to Thompson Island and we're coming into Thompson Island in dense fog and Gary says something about we should do something. I don't remember what it was and I asked him what did you just say? He said we should do this, so we have a fighting chance. Did you just say? He said we should do this, so we have a fight and chance.
Speaker 2:You know just that kind of stuff like yeah, we should have a fight and chance but a lot of great memories of that and but I do think from the friendship perspective, you know if there was any judgment it was done from the heart. There was never harsh judgment. Or you know you always felt better coming back from a weekend or whatever it was. You know you felt better about things because you had a chance to laugh and let down a little bit if something was bugging you and just be you. You know. You know that I need your love.
Speaker 4:You got that hold over me. As long as I've got your love, you know I'll never leave. I wanted you to share my life. I had no doubt in my mind and it's been you.
Speaker 1:You know, Mark, I didn't know Gary like you and your old friends did, but I can relate because I've really been blessed with numerous friends all over the years and lifelong friends. So I really understand what it means to have good, strong male friendships, and female. A lot of my good friends are gals. But I look at friendship kind of like a muscle. You know, if you don't flex them, if you don't use them, if you don't participate in friendships, they're not going to last. And the people that do flex those friendship muscles have lifelong happiness with their friends.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree with you, Joe. I'm grateful for my friends and 2024 was a big year of grief and loss, or loss and grief, depending on how you see that the hits kept coming for you yeah lost my sister, two close friends and then my father-in-law at the end of the year. It's been a really challenging year, so this episode was really healing for me. To put together Gary's voice with friends, to go back to thinking about how grateful I am for good friendship and how much friendship strengthens our lives.
Speaker 1:Well it was a privilege to meet Gary when we did the Stranded episode and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to get to know him.
Speaker 2:One thing I think you and I have shared is laughter and how important not taking yourself too seriously and have fun together. Look for the joy you bet. Make a commitment to your friends, make an effort, do your part. Run around, travel yeah and I think also you know friends can happen anywhere. So anywhere, anytime, be open to a friendship For all our listeners. If you're wondering where to get started, just begin anywhere, anytime, with the best person you can be friends with.
Speaker 4:Amen, brother, I could never say before yeah, this is my way of telling you that every day I'm loving you so much more. I should doubt myself if I'm losing ground.
Speaker 1:Well, we had a lot of music on this episode.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, let's do our music credits, Joe.
Speaker 1:We had Katie Lang singing Alleluia off the hymns of the 49th Parallel from 2004. The Trawler man by Mark Knopfler from Boom Like that, also from 2004. We had my Own One from Van Morrison and Mark Knopfler from Irish Sweetheart album Duets 2015. Then we had an oldie but goodie why Can't I Be Free by Spirit from 12 Dreams of Dr Sartonicus from 1970. Then we had Ripples from Grateful Dead from the Long Strange Trip, which was remastered in 2017. We had he Will Never Be Gone by Willie Nelson off of God's Problem Child Judgment Day from Eric Clapton off his self-titled 2010 album. And we had Right Down the Line by Bonnie Raitt from the Slipstream album from 2012.
Speaker 2:Thanks, joe, and we'll finish our episode with a group of friends singing on the porch. See you next time.
Speaker 1:Wonder who that is guitar solo Coming down on a sunny day.
Speaker 11:Yesterday and days before.
Speaker 4:The sun is cold. The rain is harder than I know.
Speaker 11:It's been that way for all of my time Till forever, only glows Through the circle, fast and slow.
Speaker 4:I know it can't stop. I wonder.
Speaker 4:I wanna know have you ever seen the rain? I want to know. Have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day? I'm going to make a little bit of a hole in the middle of the box. I'm going to make a hole in the middle of the box. I'm going to make a hole in the middle of the box. I'm going to make a hole in the middle of the box. I'm going to make a hole in the middle of the box. I want to know. Have you ever seen the rain? I want to know. Have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day? I wanna know. Have you ever seen the rain? I wanna know. Have you ever seen the rain Coming down on a sunny day? Coming down on a sunny day, coming down on a sunny day?
People on this episode
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
