Releasing Mom, Dad and Big Brother Back To The Earth
Fauntleroy Cove, Seattle, WA
Well, I've been meaning to get mom, dad and big brother Dan's ("Dannie") ashes planted in a meaningful place and one that mom and dad agreed upon before their deaths. There was a LOT of them, about 30 some pounds I'd estimate, and I think they were probably tired of being used as a doorstop...
As most of you know, I'm the last rat standing in the Jessup/Clark family. Neither my brother, sister or I left any offspring. At first my parents were disappointed, but as the years wore on and they saw how human overpopulation was just destroying everything we loved about this planet, and how kids could no longer be kids and run and play in innocence like both our generations were lucky enough to do, they were actually glad no kids were going to be left to watch what ultimately is NOT going to be pretty.
Mom and Dad both grew up in the neighborhood of Fauntleroy, in West Seattle. Both of their parents (my grandparents) also lived for many years there, and Barb's dad built several houses that still stand in the area. The Fauntleroy ferry dock always played a big role in all the generations of my family. My dad grew up playing in and around it with his boats and his great friend Morey Skaret. Morey lived to be 100 and has a bench named in his honor just above and looking out over the Ferry dock where he lived. He also published a book of life stories called "Morey's Bench" which had to be reprinted three times. I have a letter from my 11 year old father trying to convince his grandfather to loan him the money to buy Morey's boat when Morey joined the Coast Guard. (Grandpa said no.)
Dad was selling newspapers to ferry riders waiting in line to board when he was 10 (1939). He also befriended the old man who ran a small sandwich shop at the loading terminal and this man would let young Dan "run the shop" while he went in the back for a nap. Dad also befriended one of the ferry captains who would let him ride to his home on Vashon to have lunch with him. Even at that young age, dad had a way with folks. Even at an advanced age dad would still take his little sail boat down to what is now Fauntleroy Cove Park (during our life times it was just waste land next to and under the dock) and launch from there. As a kid he rowed to Vashon and Maury Island, a goal I sure wanted to do as a kid but never accomplished.
He also loved (as did we all!) to watch out the window of his home up on Marine View Drive for the killer whales that passed up and down the sound. In later years he would call to alert Mark Sears, (the son of a Fauntleroy man dad had grown up with) who became a renowned orca researcher over the past 50 years of the arrival of orca pods that Mark could not see from his water level home at Coleman pool. Mark would then kayak out to observe their behaviors. Mark was the first to find "Springer" and learn that she liked to play with sticks. Springer was the first orca baby to be successfully reunited with its pod. She is now the mother of three baby orca!
My mom also grew up walking the beach of Fauntleroy cove as she headed for the Lincoln Park saltwater swimming pool (Coleman) built on the edge of the cove. She spent a lot of time there. We were all drawn to the ferry dock at low tide, and even when she could barely walk, she still had dad take her down to observe the sea life exposed on the piers. When we moved to Vashon Island in 1958, the Fauntleroy ferry became a BIG part of all our lives! Mom brought me home from the hospital when I was 3 days old on the old Quinault ferry. How I remember those crazy, rushed drives down the Vashon roads when mom was trying to "catch the ferry" to Seattle for shopping or to visit her best friend, Ruth Jensen.
My brother also grew up hanging out at the dock ( we kids hung out under it as you couldn't really be seen down there). He had a small plastic rowboat he lovingly printed the name "Sir Frances Drake" on the rear. Back then you could leave your boat chained up to the upper dock and access it anytime you wanted. I did a TON of flounder fishing by and under that dock. I don't know as much about my brothers connection with the dock as he was a moody teen and I was an obnoxious younger sister at that time, but I know that he loved it for on his many visits home from the Coast Guard he would take his beloved dogs down there to visit the cove.
So this fall, on a nice day, my "bestie" Joyce and I drove up to Fauntleroy. Sadly, there is zero parking for this "park" and the only bit of pavement you could think of parking on said "no parking". Because I am so crippled I had to have Joyce stay with the car so it wouldn't get towed! A real bummer as I really wanted Joyce to see how nice the spot was. But - that's why I live in Goldendale... crowded cities annoy me so.
Anywho, I set off down the longish path with my two canes and my 30 some pounds of ash in a target bag, and I only got about half way down before I realized I wasn't going to make it much further with that load. There was a man on the beach who looked "very Fauntleroy" to me. I called to him several times over the waves "ARE YOU FROM FAUNTLEROY?" (Yes, I think he thought I was crazy!) I just wanted help from someone from Fauntleroy; its hard to explain.
Anyway, bless his heart he came on up and I explained to him that I wanted to release my parent's and brother's ashes there and could he help me carry the bag as my arthritic elbows had had enough. He was so kind, and assisted me over the driftwood to the little beach. Fauntleroy creek has always emptied out under the ferry dock, sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other. Today it was just wonderful, curving gracefully through the sand, ready to help carry my loved one's ashes out to mingle with the natural elements of the cove.
I waded out to the mouth of the creek and let mom, dad and Dannie loose. It felt so right. It really is hard to explain what an uplifting experience it was to release their atoms back to live on in this wonderful, beautiful place.
One really neat extra, the kind man explained that he and Mark Sears were part of a group that monitored Salmon who had started to return to Fauntleroy creek! I'll tell you why I think this is so cool. We all (mom, dad, brother, etc.) went to Fauntleroy Elementary School, which is just above the ferry dock, and sits on a steep ravine holding Fauntleroy Creek. We all grew up playing on the school playground that sat on the edge of that ravine, and I can't tell you how much time us kids would spend playing down there! You could always count on someone sending a ball over the edge, and off we would all go to get it. There is something about creeks and kids - we loved it!
On April 22, 1970 (I was in 5th grade) there was the very first "Earth Day". As you older folks remember, the 1960s and early 70's was a very bad time for the environment. People just threw tires and junk down ravines and into creeks everywhere. There was absolutely no thought to keeping wild areas nice. That poor ravine was a mess of tires and trash.
My beloved 5th grade teacher, Ms. Bennett, had us kids go down into the creek bed and haul up all the trash and tires we could. We really did bring up a lot. So for this guy to tell me that now Salmon were finally returning to this creek (which had salmon when my mom and dad were kids) just seemed like a "full circle thing".
As I watched mom, dad and Dannie's earthly remains float out into the cove I said "you guys go play with the orca now". Then I had to leave as I didn't want to cry in front of that nice guy!
Thanks again to dear friend Joyce for the support, to the nice man who helped me and to all the Fauntleroy folks out there who made mom, dad and Dannie's lives a bit better for knowing you.
Joyce knows where to dump me now when my time comes to return to the Earth; I'm sure they will still be waiting for me and we can all go on to be elemental atoms of that beautiful cove.
Mom, Dad and my big brother "Daniel Myron" (Dannie).