48. Kenny

Kenny was a paratrooper in Vietnam but still has love for the jump. I met him when he was a captain for the ferry boats I used to work for. We took to each other instantly. I still say that if I didn't get my father, I would have been happy with Kenny as a close second.

I rarely saw him without sunglasses, even on cloudy days. He has a silver mustache that curls just over his top lip and while most of his speech is mumbled, the words you can make out are pure genius. (He was usually swearing at some type of injustice-from the girl at Dunks putting too much cream in his coffee, or having to drive the late boat on the evening shift, and the early boat the following morning.) Every boat captain has their favorite deckhand I was his. On quieter runs we would have long conversations in the wheelhouse about anything from skydiving to our home lives. Sometimes we would sit in silence overlooking the ocean while he drove the boat.

I have so many stories about Kenny and all our worth telling. This one time, I walked in on him rocking out to (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. (A quintessential Kenny moment in my opinion.) Another time, a rainstorm passed quickly though the harbor and he radioed me and the other deckhand to "look at this fucking rainbow on port side."

After weeks of teaching me how do drive the ferry and showing me how to dock it, he finally gave me the sticks while pulling into home port with a crosswind.

"I can't do this! I'm going to crash the boat!" I argued.

"You wouldn't be the first person to." He said while leaving me to my own devices.

Within a minute or two he's watching me from the bow. Oncoming passengers and a few deckhands are lined up on the dock. I'm moving the jet propulsion into the direction of the wind to compensate for being knocked. I try to zone out how impatient everyone must be with me taking my time.

I get the port side end of the bow completely into the notch before easing in the starboard side. It barely made a tap. I push the sticks full throttle ahead to make sure the boat doesn't go anywhere. One of the deckhands bows down in worship.

When Kenny gets back into the wheelhouse, he smiles.

"Well that was fucking flawless, Kid." he said. He pats me on the shoulder and I head back into the cabin.

It wasn't beginner's luck. I had a great teacher.