Friday, July 12, 2019
Our Brother-In-Law Jack
Our first introduction to Jack was in the later half of the 80's when he would visit Kerry in Rockville, MD. We didn't see him often back then but it was always full of laughs as he had a great sense of humor and disposition that you would enjoy hanging out with him. That never changed throughout the years when our families would get a chance to spend some holidays together. Of all those events, one in particular has been etched in our memories
In the late 90's we were all treated to a trip to Jamaica by Susan. At the time all but Jillian were around to experience it. One morning we were presented with a list of activities including snorkeling or scuba diving. Scuba diving required a 'resort' class be completed before heading out to sea but Jack, Kim, John and Chase decided that would be the thing for us. At the time it all seemed like it would be an epic experience and we all literally jumped in - to the pool. The pool was where we would get our 'certification' and the following morning we would head out early with a captain and instructors to the open water. As we spent the two hours getting trained on the equipment and then testing out our ability to breathe comfortably under water, we were all pretty excited for the morning to come.
But there was a change happening. Later that night at dinner with our families, I sat next to Jack and we started to reflect a little bit about the scuba excursion. What I would find out later is that Jack and I suffered from two common characteristics. First, that we weren't big risk takers and second we both had some issues with confinement (claustrophobia). But at the time we were also big on not communicating our feelings to each other, our spouses or families and we talked some big talk about how much fun this would be but deep down we literally were freaked out. So the night moved on and we all headed to our rooms where sleep was inevitable. At least that's what both Jack and I thought. Each of us in our own way were dealing with the anxiety of having to suit up the next morning and heading out to the sea and then 50-75 feet downwards. The buildup was getting worse and there was no way to stop the stress and anxiety - anticipating that we would HAVE to do this as we didn't want to appear weak and pathetic to our families.
Before we left our room to meet everyone for breakfast prior to our big adventure, i had confessed to Kim that I was bailing. I didn't sleep and my anxiety got the best of me and that was it - I was out. Meanwhile, Jack had his own bought with anxiety. Unfortunate for him it emerged as Montezuma's Revenge throughout the night. He too had high anxiety and was having a tremendous worry about how this was all going to go. So as we sat at breakfast and it came to light that I had thrown in the towel, an announcement was made that the Scuba Diving was cancelled due to rough seas. As I looked at Jack I could see the huge relief on his face. I would find out later that he too had planned to pull out of the trip but he never had to say it as the announcement beat him to it. Now, with his excuse already made for him he was back on top of his game - laughing, joking and boasting that he regretted the trip was cancelled. Hmm - seems like he is taking advantage of the situation. As luck would have it his reputation still in tack!
It was only later that day that we heard the real story. Through the years we have reminisced about this trip and it just never seems to lose its sense of laughter and fun because Jack had always made it seem so much better.
Rest In Peace Jack
