..and this is why.
Tugboat life is not easy. It is also very dangerous, and that is something most people do not realize. In the 8 years Butch has been part of the tugboat world, we have had a few accidents and deaths within the company. But none have affected us so deeply or shaken us as hard as this.
Early in March, I received a call from a friend of mine who liives about an hour away. The conversation went tike this:
Me: Hello?
Friend: Hey, what are you doing?
Me: Not much, you?
Friend: Have you talked to Butch today?
Me: No, not yet. Why? (side note: this is not highly unusual. I usually let him call or text me first in case he worked overtime during the night and is asleep)
Friend: You might want to see if you can call him.
Me: Why? What's wrong?
Friend: You may want to turn on the TV. The news is reporting that a rescue operation is underway at the tugboat dock.
I'm not sure I even said thank you or goodby. I hung up. I called Butch. And praise God, Butch answered.
When I heard his voice I cried, and when he heard mine, his voice broke. He told me that his co-worker had died that morning. Seems he fell overboard. He was 20 years old.
I asked Butch if he needed me to come out there and he said no. Like a good wife, I said ok. Then I threw on a clean shirt and jeans and raced to the dock. The gates were closed, police cars were everywhere. News crews were crawling by, cameras raised, hoping to get a shot of some "breaking news". My phone was blowing up. Names and details had not been released yet, so everyone was beginning to hear what I had heard. On the way to the dock I had called my parents, Butch's parents and Butch's brother, so they wouldn't
That weekend, we went to the visitation. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. The line to pay respects was out the door of the funeral home, down the side of the building, looped back by the dumpster and across the parking lot. We stood in line almost an hour and had only moved up a few feet. We had to leave to go pick up the Princess at work. On our way out, we signed the guest book.
It took a long time to be able to write this. No one has said exactly what happened. It was just one of those crazy accidents that happen when you are living life. It wasn't a crime, it wasn't neglect, it was simply an accident that happened in a routine workday. That is what makes it so scary, knowing it was a routine day. It could have happened any day, to anyone, It could have been Butch,
I looked up the young man's Facebook page that weekend, and it was overwhelming how many people were writing their disbelief and goodbyes on his wall. Butch didn't want to look. Men deal in their own way I guess, and Butch dealt by taking us out of town for a couple of days. A change of scenery can do wonders.
It's been a couple of months now, and life on the boats is returning to routine. I'm sure it's still pretty fresh in everyone's mind how quickly things can change. It's a dangerous job that few can understand. It's a life full of the prayers of wives and families.
April 12 would have been the young man's birthday. He would have been 21. A beautiful life that ended far too soon.
