November 18th, 2010

The entire Parrot family would like to thank everyone who came to David’s memorial service, and raised more than one glass to him on his journey.  The many anecdotes given at the microphone were heartwarming and beautifully encapsulated the affect that David had on all of our lives.

If you were unable to be at the memorial, you were missed.  If you did not have an opportunity to stand before the crowd to share your thoughts or memories, please consider sharing them with us now.

Good health to you!

There was a family ceremony in Hancock, ME, two days after he sailed. 

These passages were read for him...

Sometime at eve when the tide is low,

I shall slip my mooring and sail away,

With no response to the friendly hail

Of kindred craft in the busy bay.

In the silent hush of the twilight pale,

When night swoops down to embrace the day,

And the voices call in the water’s flow,

Sometime at eve when the tide is low,

I shall slip my mooring and sail away.

Through the purpling shadows that darkly trail

O’er the ebbing tide of the Unknown Sea,

I shall fare me away, with a dip of the sail

And a ripple of waters to tell the tale

Of a lonely voyager, sailing away

To the Mystic Isles where at anchor lay

The crafts of those who have sailed before

O’er the Unknown Sea to the Unknown Shore.

A few who have watched me sail away

Will miss my craft from the busy bay;

Some friendly barques that were anchored near,

Some loving souls that my heart held dear

In silent sorrow will drop a tear...

But I shall have peacefully furled my sail

In moorings sheltered from storm or gale,

And greeted friends who have sailed before

O’er the Unknown Sea to the Unknown Shore.

Elizabeth Clark Hardy

What is dying?

I am standing on the seashore.

A ship by my side spreads her sails to the morning breeze and starts out to sea.

She is an object of beauty and strength.

I stand and watch until she diminishes in size to a speck and fades over the horizon. 

Someone at my side says, "She is gone."

Gone!

Where?

Gone from my sight, that is all.

She is just as large in mast, spar and hull as she was.

Just as able to bear cargo to her destination,

Her diminution in size is in me, not her

And just at the moment when someone at my side says "she is gone"

Other eyes are watching her and other voices are taking up the cry

"There she comes"

 And that is dying.

Henry Van Dyke

A Toast;

On the 15th of September 2010, David Parrot announced with pleasure his permanent departure for places unknown.  You are cordially requested to fill your glass with a rum float and drink a toast to a bon voyage.   Since you cannot fly on one wing, you are employed to fill your glass a second time with that same good rum float and drink a toast to a successful landing.