The Sole Survivor of the Edmond Fitzgerald

                                                                    Don on left, with his brothers.

Don's pics of the Fitz.

Before I met him, I would see him from our 4th floor apartment window, working around his house or working on cars or cutting up an old tree that had started coming down in pieces. Before I met him, I heard him cussing like an old sailor. It turns out that is what he was. And it also turns out that he would become a good friend.

We are about the same age and about the same height and weight. We share the same conservative world view (Don established that at the get go. He doesn't suffer liberal fools lightly...or at all, for that matter). And we both enjoy reading and talking, especially about history.

He was born in a working man's neighborhood in Quincy, MA to Robert and Mary. Don has two brothers and a sister, and he loved his parents fiercely. He went to Abbington High School where he distinguished himself in student government and athletics graduating in 1970. 

He was also a good student and was appointed to The Massachusetts Maritime Academy, graduating in 1974, President of his class, with a degree in Marine Engineering. Don football and lacrosse at the Academy. His nickname was Mad Dog. He liked to hit people.

His first job after graduation was as a junior Engineer on the Great Lakes...on the Edmond Fitzgerald. 

The SS Edmond Fitzgerald was the pride of the Great Lakes.  She had many nicknames; The Fitz or Mighty Fitz, Pride of the American Side, and The Titanic of the Great Lakes. When launched in 1958 she was the largest ship on the NA Great Lakes. The Fitz was 13,623 GRT, 729 feet long and 75 feet wide. She could haul a maximum load of 25,500 tons, built to haul taconite, smelted iron ore pellets, from Duluth to Detroit and other destinations. 

Don worked on the Edmond Fitzgerald for three months. And then he was bumped due to union seniority. A senior man took his position. It was a fortuitous event in his life. Shortly thereafter, The Fitz sank in heavy seas with all 29 hands lost.  Here is a YouTube video of Gordon Lightfoot's song "The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald".

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfoot (HD w/ Lyrics) - YouTube

Don says the hatch covers were typically poorly secured and, in heavy seas, some were torn free. Water flooded the cargo hold and the four big bilge pumps were likely fouled with iron ore silt. On November 10, 1975, fully loaded and heavy with water, in near hurricane force wind, with 35-foot waves, the Fitz broke in half and sank within minutes. The Fitz had made 748 round trips, over 8 million miles. Don says he knew all the men lost that night. He calls himself the sole survivor of the Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald though there are undoubtedly others who can make that claim.  But none who were onboard that ship that ill-fated night.

Don went on to a long and colorful career aboard "steamboats". He travelled the world on huge freighters and climbed the ranks to Chief Engineer. It changed him, made him hard. I could relate from my 25 years in the paper industry. It's hard to see the changes as they are taking place. But is the price you pay.

When it was time to come off the seas, he continued his career as Chief Engineer with large companies like Dennison and ran the power plants at Harvard and MIT.

I love listening to his sea stories. They are, at times, other worldly, something that cannot be understood without experiencing them. I especially enjoy his stories about his shipmates, a motley, colorful and dysfunctional crew from around the globe. 

Connie and I to stayed with him at his cottage on a lake in NH this past summer. We played his extensive 70s and 80s record collection late into the night. A good time. Connie loves him. And so do my grandkids. 

Recently his daughter, named Katie, like my daughter, gave birth to his granddaughter. He is cautiously entering into the role of grandfather. A lot to learn. A lot of unfamiliar emotions. Last week he taught me how to change brake shoes and rotors on Katie and Elnur's 2017 Subaru. He has all the tools. And we try to repay his kindness with homecooked food and tech support.

It's nice to have a new, old friend. 

Reposting February 20, 1962

 On the Road with Connie & Glen: February 20, 1962 (gdfoss.blogspot.com)

Indignities

 As I age, I need to keep on learning, keep on laughing, keep a sense of humor...or I'll shoot somebody. 

I just read "A Man Called Ove" and watched the Americanized movie version "A Man Called Otto". Lots of food for thought. Well done. Recommended. Without revealing any real plots, it's about a man struggling to find meaning and purpose in a changing world, a world changing too fast for him to keep up. I can relate.

Former blog posts talked about the exponential growth of technology and fast paced societal change. Maybe in this one I'll simply relay a few of the frustrating but funny events that seem to be happening all the more frequently.

Navigating the web, keeping track of usernames and passwords, interacting with automated telephone communications, are becoming more and more tedious, sometimes impossible. Even giving instructions to our Google player. It doesn't seem to understand. Thank God for my son in law, who just the other night quickly set us up with an Apple+ subscription on the TV, something I had unsuccessfully attempted to do for the previous hour. He also guides us with our cell phones and computers. Every family needs at least one techno-savvy member.

I have had my taxes prepared for the past 17 years by a CPA firm in Waterville. Always been happy. Until last year. The bill more than doubled. Time for action. I had always successfully done my taxes before...on paper with IRS books. So I attempted it this year. It took me two days and I knew I had done it wrong. It said I had under withheld by $2,500 and owed a penalty which I also couldn't calculate. Was it always so difficult? Or was I no longer up to the task. 

I signed up for free tax prep at our Senior Citizen Center and showed up for my appointment with all my paperwork. A pleasant, elderly woman took my information and my paperwork and an hour later we were called in to sign documents. Not only did we not have to pay a penalty, we got a $1,500 rebate! Happy...but chagrinned.

Hearing loss adds to my disgruntledness. And face masks make lip reading and understanding impossible. My hearing aids help, but only to a point, especially in noisy environments. Connie has become my interpreter, my hearing ear dog.

My first reaction to the indignities of aging, like Ove, is to behave like a grumpy, old curmudgeon. My second reaction is to laugh at myself. I prefer the latter. And I try to be mindful about it.

Last month we were herded like hogs through the airline security and customs systems on our trip to Grand Cayman. It was degrading and exhausting. We lost things, dropped things, got in the wrong lines. Connie lost her cell phone as we were pushed through the TSA march from hell. And I hurt my knee.

It swelled up like a balloon and I gimped through MIA International like an old man. The gate attendants in Grand Caymen suggested a wheelchair...and I begrudgingly agreed. But when we disembarked at the gate, there was none. I stormed off like an old curmudgeon. And, an hour later, was barely navigating. It slowed us down so much we almost missed our connect.

The following week I made an appointment to have the knee checked. The X-ray tech was a heavyset young, black woman with dreadlocks and a mask. She escorted me back to a dressing room and, with her back turned from me, gave me instructions which I didn't understand. I said, pointing at my hearing aids, "I didn't hear you." She turned around to face me, stepped up to my face and yelled "TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS!".... which I did.

I tried to get a haircut last week. I called my regular place and got put on hold for 5 minutes, then disconnected. I called back and the attendant asked me to hold. I announced my name said I had been holding and could I drive over for a cut. She said "Yes, we are very busy"...and I was disconnected again. So I drove over. When I walked in the attendant asked if I had an appointment. I said yes and told her my name whereupon and a stylist whirled around and said angrily, "I tried to tell you there would be an hour wait, but you hung up on me". I turned around and walked out without comment. Time for a new barber.

So I walked into Bruno's across the street. A woman in a mask pointed a finger at me and yelled across the room "Are you Walter?" I shook my head no. She yelled "Well, who are you?" I said, "I want a haircut." She said, "Well, you need an appointment. And I don't have any!" Again I turned around and walked out. 

I was about to give up, just like I had with the TV Apple+ subscription and the taxes but decided instead to plod up the street in the -10-degree weather and walk into another barbershop that had recently opened. The big burly barber greeted me, took my coat and gave me the best razor cut and shave of my life. He was from Lebanon and his English was poor, but a hour later after a neck, shoulder, face and head massage, and after he trimmed my eyebrows, my ears and my nose, I tipped him well. He held my coat and gave me lollipops. 

New barber, Check.

Some people are kind and accommodating to people with disabilities and with the aged. Some people are not. Some people are human beings. Some people are dicks. I am determined to not be a grumpy, old curmudgeon dick. It's not easy.

 Just need to keep plodding along because it's not going to get easier. Just gotta keep laughing.

In your face, CHATGPT!

ChatGPT

 We have all been reading about the developments associated with Artificial Intelligence and, most recently, an application called ChatGPT. Some online accounts predict this technology will create major impacts on many of today's careers from financial management to journalism to engineering and especially software engineering. There are already reports of students using the app to write papers and newspapers producing articles. Future workforce beware. One online account described the concerns as being BS and overblown. So what is the truth? 

My daughter and son-in law are tech savvy millennials and we talked about the issue at dinner the other night. They both have used the app and agree it will have a major impact in the short term, not only on their jobs, but in the global work world. I asked for a demonstration.

I have been thinking about writing a funny blog about the indignities of aging. So what would ChatGPT produce when simply instructed to write a lighthearted article about the topic? In less than 30 seconds, it wrote the following...

The Indignities of Old Age: A Lighthearted Look

"As we age, we experience a multitude of changes in our bodies and minds, some of which can be quite humorous. From forgetting names to shuffling around like we have a permanent limp, the indignities of old age can be quite a laugh riot. But, seriously, what's the deal with gravity? How does it suddenly get so strong? And why do our joints start creaking like a haunted house?

One of the most noticeable indignities of old age is our declining memory. We forget things that we once knew by heart, like our own phone number or the name of the person we just met. It's like our brain is playing a game of hide and seek and the memories are hiding just out of reach. And don't even get us started on trying to remember passwords. Our password is usually "password123" but we can never remember if it's with a capital P or not.

As if that weren't enough, our bodies start to rebel against us too. Our once nimble fingers now fumble and drop things, and our once strong legs now shake and quiver. And don't even get us started on the aches and pains that seem to pop up out of nowhere. It's like our bodies are saying, "Hey, remember when you were young and carefree? Well, payback's a b*tch!"

But, despite all these indignities, we can still find the humor in the situation. After all, laughter is the best medicine, right? Just imagine the look on the face of the young cashier who asked us if we need help reaching the top shelf, and we replied, "No, but thank you for offering. I just wanted to see if I still had my arms."

In conclusion, the indignities of old age may be many, but we can still find the humor in the situation. We may forget things, we may shuffle around, and we may ache in places we didn't know existed, but we're still here and we're still living life to the fullest. So, let's laugh and make the most of it!"

Not bad. The humor is trite. And the conclusion is lame. What seems to be missing is the personal experience piece. But the technology is simply amazing. And AI learns and becomes better at an exponential rate.

I will still write my blog on the subject...later.

The Singularity is Now.