TugDug

Wow, Monday was a wild drive home. Going up the South Center Hill the hail was coming down so hard I was starting to worry about our windshield. It was so thick on the road that cars were losing traction. After the hail came the rain. Big sloppy rain coming down at a rate that even with our wipers on full blast we had trouble seeing.

I've mentioned my friend Doug here before. Doug is one of those men that are slowly disappearing from the American landscape. He's a wiz with all things mechanical and displays no hesitation when asked to crawl under machinery to see where "that drip is coming from". From what I've seen he can drive just about anything. I've seen him behind the wheel of a car, a tractor, a tow truck, and a front loader the size of Michigan. He is truly blessed with a wide range of skills and abilities. This alone isn't what makes him an endangered species. You see, Doug also possesses a truly genuine heart for people.

I know many people I would describe as kind. I've been blessed to know a larger than average number of folks who put their kindness into practice and the term "salt of the earth" fits them well. Doug however will always be who I think of when I hear the phrase "Be salt and light".

My friend Doug wears his love for people like a sandwich board. It's easy to see and the reading lamp is lit.

I wake up in the morning like a grumpy disoriented bear, scratching, grumbling and squinting with one eye looking for something to swat at. I imagine that Doug gets out of bed, does something akin to an Irish jig, and says "Who am I going to get to help today!" It sounds fanciful I know, but if you knew Doug you'd be able to imagine it too, if only a little.

One of the other things that Doug can drive, and it blows me away, is a tug boat. In fact that's what he does for a living. His boat is moored in Tacoma and he works all over the Puget Sound but spends a good deal of time in the San Juan Island area. To me this qualifies him as having one of and perhaps the most interesting commute. He's often gone for a week or more at a time and lately he's been sending pictures of his trip using his camera phone. I think Doug would have been quite at home in an era where people drew on cave walls. He is adept at communicating with pictures. His version of "texting" is writing a note on a napkin, taking a picture of it and sending it to the recipient. Here's Doug showing me where he was at one day.

 

 

Here's the view from his "driver's seat".

 

 

It really does make a bright spot in my day when he catches one of these shots and sends them my way.

Doug and I are very different people. You put a wrench in my hand and the most likely end result will be a bump or welt. I try hard never to use a hammer out of a strong dislike for emergency rooms. Just last weekend I stained the deck and opening the bucket of stain was nearly a cause for breaking out the insurance card. I've always been that way. Not only am I lacking aptitude in those areas but for the most part I don't have the urge to work with my hands. Don't get me wrong, I have skills, just not that kind.

I'm particularly good at identifying voice over actors. People are frequently amazed when I call out "Kiefer Sutherland" or "Robert De Niro" during a credit card commercial. If you ever find a need for someone to quote Star Trek facts, or recite lyrics from obscure bands like Oingo Boing or The Tubes, I'm your man. Tammy recently discovered that I can do a pretty good Bobby McFerrin impression and if there's a Muppet emergency I can do a passing Kermit singing Rainbow Connection. Oh, and yah, that computer thing pays the bills, but really, making sure people can get on You Tube or umm, well, read my blog doesn't really make a list of vital skills. When the power goes out no one rings me up and says "Wes, we need more RAM!" Good thing too because I'm too busy calling others to ask which hole the gas goes in on the generator.

Thankfully I know people like Doug and with any luck he's in town when the power goes out.

Don't drive angry! Drive weird!

P.S. – For those of you that don't know, the different colored text in these posts is links to something else. All my links are to things I chose, for instance the link for "these shots" points to the rest of the pictures Doug has sent me. Sometimes links in blogs aren't placed there by the author and just amount to advertising. So feel free to follow my links, it points to something I meant you to see ehehe.