take two.

05/09/2014.  ok, NOW i am ready, i think.  we left a little after 8:00 a.m., headed for tangier island in heavy fog.  we were very much looking forward to seeing our old friend, milton parks, who owns and runs parks marina on the island.  much has been written about milton in various chesapeake publications and anyone who has ever been to tangier and has had the good fortune to encounter him WILL remember him forever so i'll just leave it at that.  i first met him in 2005 when consuelo and i went to tangier island on our own "i am woman" adventure on my former boat, the rosborough.  tom wasn’t even a blip in our radar yet then but the next year, in 2006, consuelo and i returned, bringing tom with us, and since then, except for 2007 and 2008 when we were based first in SC and then NC, the three of us have gone back to visit at least once every single year.  it has gotten to where milton considers one of his bulkhead slips OUR slip and kicks people off it when he knows we are coming.  he will be turning 83 this july and just got out of the hospital a few weeks ago – he has a lot of fans and he had us all very worried.  he isn’t just our friend.  we LOVE tangier island but quite honestly, we love milton more.  both are one of a kind. 

tangier island's shoreline is slowly being eaten away by mother nature.  the waterman's way of life is becoming a thing of the past.  and, well, milton is going on 83.  visiting tangier as often as we can has become even more important.  

i found this photo of milton on facebook.  i'd give credit to whoever took it if i knew who it was.  when i showed it to him, he laughed and said, "i think i was a lot younger when that was taken!"  no, i think he is timeless, but then again, i am one of his adoring, rabid fans   :)