Mom and Dad walking the walk in the Himalayas
Kids are generally infinitely cooler than their parents –
that is a fact of life – so I know that it is weird to gloat about your
parents. However, when it comes to my parents, I have come to realize that they
go bigger than anybody I know. They talk the talk, and walk the walk. Literally.
Not only are Mom and Dad sailing around the world (a journey
on which I joined them for the first three years), they also decided to take a
little month long trekking adventure through Nepal along the way. They left the boat in Phuket, Thailand
and flew into Kathmandu a few weeks ago. In the past two weeks they have
trekked over 65 miles in the Himalayas – like, in Mt. Everest’s backyard. I
don’t care if you’re 26 or 60, that’s badass.
Dad celebrated his 60th birthday in Nepal on
October 1st. Amazingly, they had internet service wherever they were
staying and I got to call and wish him a happy birthday. When I talked with him
he sounded like he was on top of the world – probably because he was.
“Happy birthday, Dad! How has it been?” I asked.
“Oh Cork, it’s been… Exquisite… Over the top…” He replied
slowly through a surprisingly clear Viber phone call, considering a signal
beamed from my iPhone 3 into outer space and landed somewhere in the Himalayas.
“Cool! So, what has been so exquisite about it?” I asked
with a pang of jealousy.
On a side note, I have spent some pretty cool birthdays with
my dad in the past three years: one in Tonga, one in Vanuatu and one in Bali,
so it was hard to imagine this one being “over the top” (or better than all the
rest). But I understood after he started elaborating:
“Oh Cork..” he began in a soft voice, “Just all the little
details. For example, this morning before sunrise we got a soft knock on the
door and a little voice said, ‘It’s clear, go watch the sunrise this morning.’
So we got up and watched the sunrise over the Himalayas. After that we returned
to the hotel and had a big breakfast. Ruthie went for a hike later in the
morning but I stayed in the room and smoked a big bowl of strong hash. Then I
went up to the rooftop bar and got a cold beer; the sky was bright blue and the
sun was shining. Two falcons were flying around each other and suddenly locked
talons in some kind of mating ritual, plunging toward earth and then soaring
back up into the sky… The owner of the hotel was so honored that I would spend
my 60th birthday at his hotel he brought me a cup of goat’s blood
from a freshly sacrificed goat… It was delicious.”
At this point if you looked up “Euphoric State of Being” in
the dictionary I am pretty sure you would see a picture of my dad. I completely
understood why this birthday was his best ever.
But he continued: “Cork, Nepal is an amazing place. You have
to come here. It is destitute, but the people here are incredibly hospitable
and warm. And everybody works incredibly hard – it is just a part of life. It
doesn’t matter if you are 6 or 60, everybody works every day.”
Inspiring, no?
Not only Nepal, not only the people, but the fact that my
parents, who are both 60 (which is the new 40) are doing ridiculously long
treks at sky high elevations, drinking goat’s blood for lunch, also happen to
be sailing around the world. Yep, that’s impressive.
My parents have always been my role models, not only because
of their work ethic, success in business or adventuresome spirit, but because
they are a team. My dad pushes my mom to do things she never thought she would
do in her wildest dreams, and my mom keeps my dad grounded and down to earth —
which it seems is harder and harder to do these days.
My conversation with Dad ended as follows:
“So, when are you guys going back to the boat? When will you
be back in Phuket?” I asked, slightly frantic at the thought that my parents
might become monks and stay in Nepal forever.
“Oh, in about a week or so,” Mom replied from the background
of their hotel room.
“Maybe…” Dad said, a little too casually.
I heard giggles from both of them.
And then the signal dropped.
