Sunday, March 09, 2008
Celebration of Life for Bert Kilbride...
on the beach at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Bert passed at age 93 on 08 JAN 2008 in Etna, California, with wife Gayla at his side. I first met Bert in 1989 when I moved to the British Virgin Islands and worked at the Bitter End Yacht Club. Bert, Gayla, their usually naked grandson Tyrel, and a pack of yappy Schipperke dogs lived on Saba Rock, a little 1 acre island 300 meters offshore from the Bitter End. They had a little bar called The Pirates Pub that served ice cold Becks beer and cheeseburgers in paradise. The "Rock" was often a great escape, a place of tall drinks, taller tales and Bert attracting an abundance of scantily-clad women. Bert was also a great complement to my scuba interests as I certified for PADI Divemaster. By 1996, Bert and Gayla were taking a look at the next phase of their lives, spending a lot of time in Florida. I moved into their stone house on top of Saba Rock, co-managing the Pirate's Pub. It was a time of learning alot about a diesel genset, a reverse osmosis desalinator, salt water toilets, noisy tropical birds and running Bert's old supply boat. By April 1997, Bert and Gala decided to sell their piece of heaven to a developer. Bert returned to the Rock and we spent a month packing up 30+ years of his "treasures". We'd often be boxing up something like an old musket ball or coral-encrusted bottle and we'd stop to reminisce over a cold malted beverage. There were drawings, maps, old coins, and bleached bones. Until that final day when we stepped off Saba Rock, there was a craggy, old pirate with long wind-blown hair and beard, pierced ear, gold around his neck, a busted up nose, wobbly knees and a big heart. That's the last I saw of Bert as I went back to the U.S. and got caught up in the corporate world of computer helpdesks. Shame on me, I missed the end of his life, but a lot of his story is at www.BertKilbride.com/
Pretty typical shot of Bert lying around Saba Rock years ago, surrounded by salvage from the wreck of the Rhone and the Bitter End Yacht Club in the background.
Bert probably would have snickered at a Celebration "agenda".
Bert had flown pirate flags forever and they continued at his memorial.
Some of Bert's sons and daughters. I missed seeing Jimmy who is a divemaster in Hawaii.
After 11 years, Sandy Hartman was the first of old friends I spotted because she has kept in shape and not changed much.
Sandy's husband Bobby and underwater videographer Dave List. Dave was here with his daughter and moving back to the Tampa area.
Bert with Amy & Mike. Amy is either kissing the pope's ring or mining a diamond... just kidding.
I think now know Dave's daughter's name is Ruby Rose. She was bashful compared to Dave.
2:03 PM
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Thursday, March 06, 2008
Spring Training in Ft. Myers
LA Dodgers at Boston Red Sox, City of Palms Park.
I used to think of my father as the "Big Guy". Either he's shrinking or my diet starts tomorrow.
Brother Andy got us seats for the game. The guy in front of us took more razzing than the umpire.
Manny and the big names only play the first few innings.
As the crowds thinned out in later innings, I was able to get some great telephoto shots of relative unknowns.
1:19 PM
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