Our Eldest Son
Our eldest son is the second child from six. He was born in June and was a very welcome bother to our daughter.
From his early childhood his character was very evident and now that he is forty I can say that when he was a child he used to behave as he does now. He was always a boy / man of few words not that he was proud or something, but he always preferred to keep his thoughts and perhaps his troubles to himself. Sometimes I would notice that he is worried and naturally I would ask him why. But his answer is always evasive. He is married and has two children a girl and a boy. The only complaint that his wife says about him is that he never tells her much on what goes on in his mind, his plans and his wishes.
Being my eldest son I tired, perhaps without wanting it, to make him interest himself in all that which I did………… football, woodwork, swimming, diving, boating……..etc Although he did join in everything and, so to speak, he got a taste of everything I offered him, in the long run he chose those things which he wanted. To begin with he is not at all keen on football. Not only he does not play it, but he doesn’t even fellow any games on TV, even when there is a very important game or a final of some important competition,
When he was in his early teens, I used to take him to my workshop to help me. He turned out to be a very good craftsman and he succeeded to do all that I asked of him. In time he became my sprayer and a very good one, I may say. I used to take him with me when I went to deliver and fit the work we had done at people’s houses or wherever and he never complained or showed that he was annoyed. He was a real man although he was still very young. I used to tell him that one day we two will achieve great things……………..on my part this prophecy never became reality but for him it did because in a way he is achieving the dreams I had all my life. I will tell you about this soon.
Our eldest son is the second child from six. He was born in June and was a very welcome bother to our daughter.
From his early childhood his character was very evident and now that he is forty I can say that when he was a child he used to behave as he does now. He was always a boy / man of few words not that he was proud or something, but he always preferred to keep his thoughts and perhaps his troubles to himself. Sometimes I would notice that he is worried and naturally I would ask him why. But his answer is always evasive. He is married and has two children a girl and a boy. The only complaint that his wife says about him is that he never tells her much on what goes on in his mind, his plans and his wishes.
Being my eldest son I tired, perhaps without wanting it, to make him interest himself in all that which I did………… football, woodwork, swimming, diving, boating……..etc Although he did join in everything and, so to speak, he got a taste of everything I offered him, in the long run he chose those things which he wanted. To begin with he is not at all keen on football. Not only he does not play it, but he doesn’t even fellow any games on TV, even when there is a very important game or a final of some important competition,
When he was in his early teens, I used to take him to my workshop to help me. He turned out to be a very good craftsman and he succeeded to do all that I asked of him. In time he became my sprayer and a very good one, I may say. I used to take him with me when I went to deliver and fit the work we had done at people’s houses or wherever and he never complained or showed that he was annoyed. He was a real man although he was still very young. I used to tell him that one day we two will achieve great things……………..on my part this prophecy never became reality but for him it did because in a way he is achieving the dreams I had all my life. I will tell you about this soon.
But when he grew enough and arrived at the point to choose a carrier, he surprised us all because he did not chose to become a wood worker or a sprayer or even a teacher. But one thing which he was passionate about all the way was cars and boats and any vehicle which moved by means of an engine. He let go all the woodwork and spraying which he was so good at and chose to be a mechanic. He still helped me but I did foresee that this had to stop soon. In fact when he received the first certificates as a mechanic, he and a close friend of his rented a garage and began to repair people’s cars. I often used to go and watch him work and I can tell you that he would be as happy as a king when he would be all dirty with oil and half immersed in an engine which he would be operating on to bring it back to life. He was happy, so I was happy too although I missed his presence a lot in my workshop.
But soon he returned to my workshop not to work for me but as he was preparing to get married, he wished to make all his furniture himself. Those were very busy months for him because, I forgot to tell you that he had a full time job as a mechanic working at the local airport. Then he would go to work in his garage and every chance he had, he would come to build his furniture in my work shop…............. of course I did give him some advices and also helped him in this project.
But if there is something that he took completely after me 100% is his love for the sea. From his childhood his favorite toy was a wooden boat or a sailing boat which he himself used to build. Once he got a nice, big toy cabin cruiser as a present and he would spend hours looking at it and imagining who knows what. Of course when we used to go on our boat trips he would feel on top of the world. Most often when he was still a small boy, I would put him on my lap and he would pretend to drive the boat himself. Often I would pull him in his rubber dingy tied to my boat. Besides, boating he was now my regular companion when we went snorkeling or when we went fishing. Later on he also got a diving license and although I did not do the course, he taught me the basics and I would dive with him in our deep blue sea……..mostly to keep an eye on him because he is the adventurous type and does not calculate risk.
In fact I wish to tell you just one of the misadventures he had when diving. It happened when we planned this dive with a difference. We were supposed to be four but a friend of my son had some urgent business to attend to at that time. But he promised that he will join us later if it was possible. So we were three, my son, another friend of his and myself. Usually we went to a good diving spot either with the car if it was just off shore or with the boat if it was far out from the shore. Then once down we would go a certain distance from the departure spot and then return back more or less from where we had passed on our way out.
One can only stay underwater for as long as the oxygen in the cylinder lasts. This depends on various factors mostly on the depth of the water and the condition of the diver. Now that day I had a blocked nose so I decided not to dive because this would have caused me problems. So what we planned differently was that I would drive them with the boat to a good spot indicated on the map and then they would go down and I will drive slowly following the two sets of bubbles which came up from their regulators. By doing so they would explore a longer stretch of sea bed since they would not have to return back from the same way as usual.
Having revised for the last time what each of us had to do, I drove to the spot indicated on the map which was about three kilometers away from the shore, the depth of the water varied from 35 to 45 meters. After the last recommendations they were off. Soon I could see two distinctive sets of bubbles which I begun to follow slowly in my boat. All went perfect for the first twenty minutes or so.
Then I began to see just one set of bubbles. I watched to the left and to the right just in case one of them had decided to swim away some distance from the other perhaps chasing a fish……you never know!! But it was not the case. Time was passing and my anxiety was now at its highest. Down there something was happening that I was unable to see and helpless to take any action. What could I do? Who was it, my son or his friend? How serious was the situation?
I was desperate. There was no time to lose. I had at least to try to help. I put on my mask and my flippers which I kept always in my boat and dived into the sea hoping to be able to reach them perhaps they were half way down. I struggled with all my might and dug into the sea further down. All I could see were the bubbles coming up from the deep and the sun’s rays which reflected back from the darkness of the deep. I was holding my breath and soon I felt as if I was going to explode. No sign of anything except that one set of bubbles which I was following and which kept coming up from the abyss. I could not go any further down and I started my way up as fast as I could, kicking with all my might before my lungs burst. I was relieved when I reached the surface. My boat had drifted away more than fifty meters. Now I did not know what to do; go after my boat or keep trace of the bubbles that were coming up.
But at that very moment I heard the sound of an engine approaching. It was my son’s other friend. I waved at him and he was by me in no time. In a few words I explained everything to him. He did not bring his diving equipment so all we could do was to wait, pray and hope for the best. I asked him to go and fetch my boat which he did. Of course in those days there were no cell phones so we could not call anyone for help.
After quite some time I noticed that the bubbles were nearing the surface because they got bigger and bubblier. The tension was enormous. Who knows what we were going to discover? At last they reemerged. I shouted, “What Happened?” Both of them were there, grabbed to each other and they seemed quite OK. We helped them up in my boat and after catching their breath my son explained that his regulator stopped from working and he could not breathe anymore so they both had to share the same mouth piece. (Nowadays it is obligatory to have two regulators). Besides, they could not just make their way up because they had to do decompression time.
But ‘Thank God’ everything ended well. But it was one of those experiences which no one of us will ever forget.
But soon he returned to my workshop not to work for me but as he was preparing to get married, he wished to make all his furniture himself. Those were very busy months for him because, I forgot to tell you that he had a full time job as a mechanic working at the local airport. Then he would go to work in his garage and every chance he had, he would come to build his furniture in my work shop…............. of course I did give him some advices and also helped him in this project.
But if there is something that he took completely after me 100% is his love for the sea. From his childhood his favorite toy was a wooden boat or a sailing boat which he himself used to build. Once he got a nice, big toy cabin cruiser as a present and he would spend hours looking at it and imagining who knows what. Of course when we used to go on our boat trips he would feel on top of the world. Most often when he was still a small boy, I would put him on my lap and he would pretend to drive the boat himself. Often I would pull him in his rubber dingy tied to my boat. Besides, boating he was now my regular companion when we went snorkeling or when we went fishing. Later on he also got a diving license and although I did not do the course, he taught me the basics and I would dive with him in our deep blue sea……..mostly to keep an eye on him because he is the adventurous type and does not calculate risk.
In fact I wish to tell you just one of the misadventures he had when diving. It happened when we planned this dive with a difference. We were supposed to be four but a friend of my son had some urgent business to attend to at that time. But he promised that he will join us later if it was possible. So we were three, my son, another friend of his and myself. Usually we went to a good diving spot either with the car if it was just off shore or with the boat if it was far out from the shore. Then once down we would go a certain distance from the departure spot and then return back more or less from where we had passed on our way out.
One can only stay underwater for as long as the oxygen in the cylinder lasts. This depends on various factors mostly on the depth of the water and the condition of the diver. Now that day I had a blocked nose so I decided not to dive because this would have caused me problems. So what we planned differently was that I would drive them with the boat to a good spot indicated on the map and then they would go down and I will drive slowly following the two sets of bubbles which came up from their regulators. By doing so they would explore a longer stretch of sea bed since they would not have to return back from the same way as usual.
Having revised for the last time what each of us had to do, I drove to the spot indicated on the map which was about three kilometers away from the shore, the depth of the water varied from 35 to 45 meters. After the last recommendations they were off. Soon I could see two distinctive sets of bubbles which I begun to follow slowly in my boat. All went perfect for the first twenty minutes or so.
Then I began to see just one set of bubbles. I watched to the left and to the right just in case one of them had decided to swim away some distance from the other perhaps chasing a fish……you never know!! But it was not the case. Time was passing and my anxiety was now at its highest. Down there something was happening that I was unable to see and helpless to take any action. What could I do? Who was it, my son or his friend? How serious was the situation?
I was desperate. There was no time to lose. I had at least to try to help. I put on my mask and my flippers which I kept always in my boat and dived into the sea hoping to be able to reach them perhaps they were half way down. I struggled with all my might and dug into the sea further down. All I could see were the bubbles coming up from the deep and the sun’s rays which reflected back from the darkness of the deep. I was holding my breath and soon I felt as if I was going to explode. No sign of anything except that one set of bubbles which I was following and which kept coming up from the abyss. I could not go any further down and I started my way up as fast as I could, kicking with all my might before my lungs burst. I was relieved when I reached the surface. My boat had drifted away more than fifty meters. Now I did not know what to do; go after my boat or keep trace of the bubbles that were coming up.
But at that very moment I heard the sound of an engine approaching. It was my son’s other friend. I waved at him and he was by me in no time. In a few words I explained everything to him. He did not bring his diving equipment so all we could do was to wait, pray and hope for the best. I asked him to go and fetch my boat which he did. Of course in those days there were no cell phones so we could not call anyone for help.
After quite some time I noticed that the bubbles were nearing the surface because they got bigger and bubblier. The tension was enormous. Who knows what we were going to discover? At last they reemerged. I shouted, “What Happened?” Both of them were there, grabbed to each other and they seemed quite OK. We helped them up in my boat and after catching their breath my son explained that his regulator stopped from working and he could not breathe anymore so they both had to share the same mouth piece. (Nowadays it is obligatory to have two regulators). Besides, they could not just make their way up because they had to do decompression time.
But ‘Thank God’ everything ended well. But it was one of those experiences which no one of us will ever forget.
One of our diving expeditions. Here you can see two of my sons with two friends and myself.
But let’s go back a little when he was seventeen, his first target was to have a car of his own but he was still attending school and had only some money which I gave him for helping me. But as I told you already, you never know what is going on in his head. One fine day when we were going to my work shop as usual, he asked me if we could go to a nearby field not too far away because he wished to show me something. I wandered what he wanted to show me but I accepted without asking him what it was all about, not to spoil the surprise. There we were and we got out of the car and he led the way in an abandoned field towards a corner where the weeds grew as tall as a man. When we arrived we went through the weeds and there was this wreck of a car, all rust, badly battered and it looked as if it was half buried in the soil. There were weeds growing out of its open windows. It was an old Cortina Mark1. Then he looked at me and said, “Do you think that I can bring it to life?”
I did no laugh because I did not want to hurt his feelings. Then after thinking what I was going to tell him I said, “First of all although this car seems a total loss, you cannot just take it, it belongs to somebody….”
He promptly answered , “that’s no problem, I spoke to its owner and he is only too happy if I get him rid of it.
"So he has already decided …………,” I thought to myself. But I really was getting worried now because he surely was not looking at the whole picture and I felt duty bound to try to open his eyes so I told him, “But listen even if you succeed to fix it and make it presentable and also make it functional, are you conscious how much money you would need? Would it be worth it? Won’t it be better to wait a little longer and buy a good second hand car?
“I did all my homework and I really wish to try my hand at it so that I will put in practice what I am learning at school. This surely will put me to the test as regards panel beating and spraying and I will have all the experience needed as regards suspension, electricity, and all systems found in a car. I will surely acquire a good experience and learn quite a lot hands on, don’t you think so?”
“And what about the expenses?” I asked.
“It won’t cost me as much as you think because I can take parts of the car and repair them at school as practice. They encourage us to do so. My aim is to have it finished by the time I am eighteen so that then I will get the driving license and have my own car. I know I have to change several body, engine and other parts but I will do it gradually with the money I earn from you.”
Knowing my son and seeing the eagerness in his eyes as he spoke to me, I surely did not want to be a wet blanket to him so I agreed to his project and promised him to help him as much as I could although in my heart of hearts I had serious doubts about this project.
And surely he kept his word and amazed me…. not only me but also all those who saw the ‘before’ and ‘after’ result. But as I predicted, it did cost him much more than he calculated but I guess that is experience too because as they say, ‘we all learn from our mistakes.’
I did no laugh because I did not want to hurt his feelings. Then after thinking what I was going to tell him I said, “First of all although this car seems a total loss, you cannot just take it, it belongs to somebody….”
He promptly answered , “that’s no problem, I spoke to its owner and he is only too happy if I get him rid of it.
"So he has already decided …………,” I thought to myself. But I really was getting worried now because he surely was not looking at the whole picture and I felt duty bound to try to open his eyes so I told him, “But listen even if you succeed to fix it and make it presentable and also make it functional, are you conscious how much money you would need? Would it be worth it? Won’t it be better to wait a little longer and buy a good second hand car?
“I did all my homework and I really wish to try my hand at it so that I will put in practice what I am learning at school. This surely will put me to the test as regards panel beating and spraying and I will have all the experience needed as regards suspension, electricity, and all systems found in a car. I will surely acquire a good experience and learn quite a lot hands on, don’t you think so?”
“And what about the expenses?” I asked.
“It won’t cost me as much as you think because I can take parts of the car and repair them at school as practice. They encourage us to do so. My aim is to have it finished by the time I am eighteen so that then I will get the driving license and have my own car. I know I have to change several body, engine and other parts but I will do it gradually with the money I earn from you.”
Knowing my son and seeing the eagerness in his eyes as he spoke to me, I surely did not want to be a wet blanket to him so I agreed to his project and promised him to help him as much as I could although in my heart of hearts I had serious doubts about this project.
And surely he kept his word and amazed me…. not only me but also all those who saw the ‘before’ and ‘after’ result. But as I predicted, it did cost him much more than he calculated but I guess that is experience too because as they say, ‘we all learn from our mistakes.’
As I told you, now he is forty. He was promoted to an engineer in our local Power Station. He has his own large garage complete with the most useful equipment where he repairs people’s cars after his full time job working hours. Of course since the story I’ve just narrated he changed his car several times. He also had several boats. He started with a small boat and after few years he would sell it and buy a bigger one. At present he has the most wonderful 30 feet cabin cruiser. Of course sometimes we go fishing together with some friends. Till a couple of years back we used to go more than 30 kilometers out at sea to fish for swordfish. It is a pity that we can’t do it any longer because it is now illegal.
Useless to say my wife and I and other members of our big family are frequently invited to join him and his family to go on his boat. We go to different places around Malta, Comino and Gozo and enjoy ourselves together at sea. Every summer he also goes to Sicily, usually with another friend and his family who also have a big boat too.
In this regards, as I mentioned earlier in this story, this son of mine has made some of my dreams come true because I always dreamed of having a cabin cruiser but I never succeeded to achieve this dream But at my old age I am sort of realizing this wish through my son. Mind you I never could afford to have and keep such a boat. My son himself admits that what he earns from his part time job, goes almost entirely for this favorite hobby of his.
In this regards, as I mentioned earlier in this story, this son of mine has made some of my dreams come true because I always dreamed of having a cabin cruiser but I never succeeded to achieve this dream But at my old age I am sort of realizing this wish through my son. Mind you I never could afford to have and keep such a boat. My son himself admits that what he earns from his part time job, goes almost entirely for this favorite hobby of his.
To conclude, what can I say more about this son? He is a real gentleman and his calm character makes him so loveable. I always say about him that even if one wants to fight or quarrel with him, he can’t because he really is a good man. Besides being my dear son, he is my best friend and he takes care of my car as regards servicing or when it needs repairing. Often I spend few hours in his garage watching him repair people’s cars. I admire his nice way in dealing with his clients although some of them are very tough guys. But he is so nice and he does his utmost to help others. I never saw anyone quarreling or complaining with him. No wander he has many true friends who really love him and respect him.
Quote of the day:
Calm seas never make skilful good sailors.
Quote of the day:
Calm seas never make skilful good sailors.