Love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image... otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them. ~Author Unknown

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Captn Ryan

My son Ryan will be 29 next week and I want to wish him a wonderful Birthday!

Like all mothers it's hard for me to comprehend having a child his age.  It's like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital.  He was a live-wire from the time he was a small baby and still is ... but I would not have it any other way.

I could fill a Blog with stories of Ryan's escapades and adventures from the time he attended ACA in Montgomery to his days in Reeltown and hanging out with best buddy Lanier Baker.  He finished his high school years at Tallassee and we had some wonderful football experiences those years, too.

But who would have ever dreamed that Ryan would be a Captain?  He always had a love for the water and fishing.  We would go on chartered fishing trips in the Gulf when he was a little boy and he would say he wanted to 'do that one day' while pointing at the deck hands pulling in huge snapper and Amberjack.  

I must admit I never thought he would have the opportunity to pursue his dream, but things fell into place after he moved to Gulf Shores.

Ryan worked for a while for a private boat captain, and then on the Intimidator out of Orange Beach.  His natural fishing abilities helped him greatly as a deckhand.  He bought his own boat and has had some great times on it.  Yes, I've had some good times fishing with he and Ashley, and fishing with his good friend Bobby on the "Reel Hard".  

Ryan obtained his 100 ton Captains License in 2007, and later his USCG 200 Ton Master License.   He is now Captain on a 200-ton vessel, Annie. She’s a 175 foot class Liftboat with a 110 ton crane.

I'm so proud of him and the man he's become !! 
{I'll post a story on his sweet wife, and my 'grand-dog' at a later time.}