Family, Isn't It About...No Bill! Not On The Boat!!!

About a year ago my Grandfather McCammon passed away and when the family got together for his funeral, everyone started sharing these great stories I had never heard before. So, in the interest of preserving my family history, while hopefully strengthening some family ties, I’ve taken it upon myself to try and record some of my family’s stories. For the time being I’ll be posting them here until I can find a more suitable medium. I've decided to focus more on my Granddad since I probably know the least about him and his stories are the freshest in my mind. Here is the first one I've prepared and if you're in my family, be prepared for me to start bugging you for more...

In 1948, my Grandparents, dad (Bill Jr.) and uncle (Bob) were living in Berkeley, CA. Granddad and Grandma were worried about their two sons growing up on the mean streets of Berkeley (in 1948?! Geez, tough town) and decided the family needed an activity to help the family stay together. Camping was out of the question because the High Sierras were just two far away getting there meant traveling mainly on two lane roads which would have made the trip a tad unpleasant.

Having been on a sailboat a grand total of one time in his life, Granddad decided that was the activity for his family and commenced asking around at his office for any help in finding a sailboat. He wound up in Sausalito at a place called Nunes Brothers who built him a 23-foot Bear Boat. It was launched on a clear and calm day to the playing of bagpipes (um, ok?). Unfortunately, Granddad didn’t know how to sail the boat so someone else had to take the helm as they all rode the boat to Richmond where it would be kept.

As the Grandparents stepped onto the boat and marveled at the calm waters, pondering their future boat trips as they worked towards and solidified their family unity, Bill Jr. (my dad) put one foot on the boat and immediately became seasick. So the family gathering was Bill Jr. seasick and everyone else having a good time.

Ultimately, the message we can take home is the importance of family and having activities that can be done together as a family. The Grandparents were all about family and wanted to make sure their family was strong. That is what we can take from them.

This story was told by my Uncle Bob and recorded by my brother Will. My many, many thanks to them for this story and Bob, I hope I didn’t mess up your rendition of this story.