you know how when you a kid in school theres allways someone your friends with who moves away? And you trade numbers and say you'll keep in touch? mostly it never happens though right?
  I met Cameron Lord when I was 12 or 13, tough to say really it's been a while. I was deckhanding on a boat run by one of dad's friends, Tim or captain barnacle butt as he became known later due to a long slide down a crusty plank. I don't remember the name of the boat anymore, but our first mates name was Roscoe and the ships dog was Brita, a rotweiler bitch that used to belong to dad till her and mom stopped seeing eye to eye.
  We tied along side the Mary Jane 3 one day while waiting on our set. we were longlining dogfish for mickey dee, they call the fillet of fish Pacific rock salmon but i know for a fact that means dog shark. They were gillnetting real salmon, both boats double ended wooden japanese fish boats from the 50's.
  The skippers name was Chris Lord and he had a deckhand named Cameron Lord, about my age and we played fishboat games while the skippers and crew drank rum and pepsi. by fishboat games i mean poking the fish in the hold with sticks and throwing stuff overboard. At least until another boat pulled along side, one of chris's friends Ingvar had a child crew as well. As they came along side Cam and I made ourselves busy with the bow and stem lines. Ingvars crew sat huddled on the hold hatches with wide terrified eyes and basicly made themselves useless. a Brief attempt at conversation and we decided these were not the same as us and went back to having fun. Chris decided after a question to Tim that we were ok to play with his shotgun and as Ingvar was drinking beer we soon had bottles to blast and it was no loss when the 3rd boat had to go.
  When our set was ready to pull the decision to move was made as well and as both boats had the same hull speed we decided to tie together and travel as a catamaran. Cam and I spent a couple days working and playing between workings then went seperate ways.
  Summer over back to school. Grade 7, Mister Taylor's class first day and theres a new kid! He just moved here from england, actually the north west territorys most recently but the accent was thick british. Cam sat next to me and i looked at him and said " I know you. Your dad has a fishboat. Wanna come over after school? I have a bb gun!"
  And thats how it began. When i said about the same age, it turned out our birthdays were one apart. mine was june 1st and his the second of 1975. We explored the bush around our respective houses like explorers in the wilderness. Forts were built and cliffs scaled, we learned to shoot and build snares and trapped wild animals like his dog shep the dumbest sheperd with 6 toes ever. one birthday we watched Predator on Beta then camped in the backyard at his place. Shep became an invaluable member of the team that night and one summer we carved all our names in a tree at beddis beach. Years later Cameron told me he was working with his dad of beddis and got curious. Threw his mustang survival suit on and swam ashore to see if our names were still there. It must have been a good one for the tourists the man in the bright red mustang who jumped of the fishboat swam to shore climbed a tree ran back into the water laughing and swam away. Cam Joe and Shep still to this day halfway up a tree on Beddis beach, Saltspring Island B.C.
  He moved to crofton in grade 9 and we made the promise and then kept it. His mom and dad split up and she still lives there, Rita Lord who teaches at Bright Angel Elemtary in Duncan and who's number is still burned in my head. 746-6624 probably be there till the day i die!