Sailing off into his Last Sunset

Last weekend was my last hurrah of the summer. That description is quite literal as we spent time at a bar called The Last Hurrah attached to our hotel. We traveled to Boston to take our brother-in-law to Fenway Park for his 50th birthday. We had a blast at our first game at the iconic ball field and as much as I loved every minute touring the stadium, cheering on a great game and joining in on ‘Sweet Caroline’ with the fans I couldn’t help but make sure everyone knew that it didn’t beat my Wrigley Field. Day two in Boston we sailed around Boston Harbor and explored the waters around the historic city. It doesn’t have to be tropical waters for me to want to play Jimmy Buffet when on a boat ride and especially with it being our guest of honor’s 50th birthday I had to add a ‘Pirate Looks at Forty’. We played another three or four of his songs and I wondered when I’d get to see him live again. This summer was filled with lots of boat trips, soaking in sun rays and saltwater splashes, sandy toes, and just like any Jimmy Buffet playlist Cheeseburgers in Paradise, blowing out flip flops, and searching for lost shakers of salt. Cheers to the end of another great summer and the end of a musical era, only his legacy wont ever end until the last Parrothead hangs up his hat or we stop playing these magical songs on our boats, beach days, barbecues, road trips, parties, you get what I’m saying. I’ll end with words from my friend, Brian Betti, a true Parrothead, who fittingly mentions our beloved, Wrigley Field in his tribute to Jimmy Buffet.

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This morning we are listening to Radio Margaritaville and I am reflecting on how a man that I only interacted in person with one time (I saw him on a catwalk at Wrigley during a Cubs game - I yelled Fins Up and gave him the fins sign - He pointed back at me and responded with the same Fins Up sign) has been such an influential inspiration to my life. I was lucky enough to see a JB concert almost every summer since 1992...starting with John Henry Czapla at Popular Creek, many shows on the hill of Alpine (from the monsoon/mud hill to some absolutely perfect beautiful nights, a few at House of Blues and my favorite show was the initial Wrigley Field show. All in all, we laughed, we danced and we sang along as the fun loving Parrrotheads should! JB created a pilgrimage for my family (Jay Nawrocki and Katie Betti) and friends (Erik Stromberg - those camping nights - will never be forgotten. He was also an influence to me in business....my last school paper i wrote 20ish years ago for my business degree was on Jimmy Buffett and my teacher thought i was crazy. But at that time, he was one of only 5 authors to have a fiction and non fiction #1 best seller and he owned the #1 restaurant (by sales) Margaritaville in Las Vegas. He sold escapism and we all could use some escapism from our every day lives....and look at where his business went from there...more restaurants, hotels, campgrounds, etc... And it all started from one simple song he wrote on the shores of Key West. Everyone has their own Margaritaville and trust me, you will know it when you are there. Enjoy your One Particular Harbor, your Lone Palm, your Captain Tony's, etc...

My favorite JB line comes from a song called Barefoot Children - "Wrinkles only go where the smiles have been."

RIP JB - Sail on Sailor.

Fins UP