Ghost Ship

I have salt water in my veins. No, really, Internet, I do. A few days ago, my Mom texted (she's such a techie) me the picture shown above, in today's post. It's the fishing boat that my Nanu Giovanni, my Mother's father, was fishing on the night it sunk, never to return home again, just before my Mother's 17th birthday.

It's a sad and tragic story for my family.

My Nanu's body didn't come to shore right away either, so my family kept up hope, until his body did, finally, wash a shore about a week later. Not completely intact, either.

Consequently, years later, when I was surfing, there was a fisherman lost at sea. I would be surfing, and his family would regularly visit the beach, looking for him. It was surreal. I lived my family trauma through theirs. But his body took longer to turn up, around a month or so, and I'm happy to say I wasn't the one who found him.

When his body was finally found, I could see the family was relieved to have closure, and very saddened at the same time. Much like my family must have been when they finally found my Nanu's empty shell.

That's some intense family history. I never knew my Nanu, but I am strongly connected to him through the sea. And I know he watches over me when I'm on the water, so don't worry, Mom.

However, I also think there's a connection between my Nanu and my youngest son, hence the nickname, "Gio." Whether, it's my Nanu reincarnated, or he's just one of Gio's guardian angels, doesn't really matter much to me.

It isn't just because they're both buglers, or that Gio would drink black coffee and wine if we let him. There just seems to be a little old man, stuck in my little boy's body, with some of the things that come out of his mouth.

Like the time, when he was around two-years-old and said, "I drowned in a boat!"

Yeah, that sort of sealed the deal for me. There's definitely something other-worldly going on here.