TUCOU

Today was a difficult day for our family. Tucou, our dog, part of our lives for 23 years. a loyal friend and companion through all the events during every moment of that time had to be put down. Like any blow such as this, it is hard to imagine that we will recover, that time will soften the harsh reality of life.

November 2008

I'm back. I have not made a posting since the beginning of November. I have been out of contact, so to speak, without a computer. I was in France; in the Pyrenees Mountains. I had not been there in perhaps 15 years. I was married there, my first child was born there. I am American, born and bred, however my ties to this part of the world are deep and strong. The sounds, smells and sights were all very familiar to me.

The Snow in the Mountains was already so deep that the danger of avalanche was already real. The Mountain in the photo is the Pic Du Midi. with an observatory at the top. Interestingly this peak is exactly on the Greenwich Meridian.

1973 continued

I eluded to the breath of events for 1973, My wedding was one whose date was a established after consulting the sailing schedule. With Admiral's Cup and the Fastnet behind me I could concentrate on my future wife. We were married in Aste, a small village in the Pyrenees mountains, which separate France from Spain.

Never has there been such a wonderful event at least as far as I am concerned. Not only was I welcomed into my wife's family, It was the best party I ever attended. Since then I have come to know this region of France, and it has become part of me.

Although it is not near the sea, I brought the first windsurfer to France, sailing it in the lakes in the Mountains. At the time I was reviled by the fishermen, today the fishermen are gone and there is a fleet of windsurfers.