darren
Poobah Emeritus
Various issues have kept me off of the site lately, but this is a story that I feel needs to be told. So the history lesson begins.
Where to start…back the old days I guess. I’m the youngest of six kids. That gave me the benefit of having older brothers and sisters that could teach me things. Their experience made me wise beyond my years...although if you asked them they would probably say that I was just a wise ass.
Tommy's 17th birthday
l-r Tommy, Linda, Craig, Rick, Jan, me
Although my sisters gave me invaluable knowledge on how to do things and get away without be caught by my parents, my brother Tommy turned into EF Hutton for me – when he spoke I listened. He was 15 years older than me and was an electrical engineering student when I was just a little boy. He taught me to use his calculator when I was only 4 or 5. He trusted me to use his 8 track player and headphones, and I was amazed to hear his stories about the mainframe computer at college. The memories are a little hazy, but they remain.
I had always loved playing outdoors, but Tommy opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. When I was 14, I spent nearly the whole summer with Tommy. He had graduated college in 76 and left Southeastern Mass to work and live in Utica, NY. I spent a week with him at his apartment and then we set off on a month long adventure to the Canadian Rockies. We drove all the way across Canada, explored the Canadian Rockies, and then went down to Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and then back across the States. We never had an agenda. We just drove where we wanted and stopped where we wanted to spend some time. We camped, hiked, canoed, and went white water rafting and snorkeling. After the trip I spent another week in Utica before returning home.
Me and Tommy on the trail
Deck with a view
Me and Tommy taking the easy way up in a gondola
Tommy spent a lot of his free time in the Adirondacks. He was always hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, snorkeling, xc skiing, or white water rafting. He shared his passion for outdoor activities with me, but it was never forced it on me. He always asked me “what do you want to do?” During our Canadian Rockies adventure he would always give me the maps and ask “where should we go next?” and when we got there he would ask “what do you want to do here?” and then give me the guide book and let me pick a trail.
Yes, we wore cotton and jeans...it was the 80's
He taught me to snorkel and how to hold my breath. At my best I could hold my breath for 1.5 minutes, but that was only half of what Tommy could do…3 minutes. He was half fish. He was like that though, he was a master of everything that he did. He designed and built a custom Victorian home – with every detail perfectly planned out, right down to the angles of the rising and setting sun during different seasons.
What are you looking at?
Me, our nephew Michael, and Tommy out for a paddle
Tommy introduced me to the world of electronics and led me down the path of electrical engineering, although once again never pushing it on me. At 15 I was designing and building circuits in the basement. If I had a question, Tommy would give me 10 times the information I needed. He would buy books and magazines and mail them to me. He loaned me a computer for an entire summer. He always went out of his way to help me. 15 years after Tommy did, I graduated from the same school with the same electrical engineering degree.
VFTT came from my love of both the outdoors and technology. It is a direct result of the influence Tommy had on me. Learn, enjoy, share.
This past weekend, Tommy lost his long fight with illness at the age of 56. He never gave up and fought to the end. These few pages do not scratch the surface of what Tommy did for me and what he meant to me, but I just felt that part of the story needed to be told.
Tommy is survived by his daughter Katey, and wife Sarah
Aloha Tommy, you will always be loved and missed.
Your little brudda
Where to start…back the old days I guess. I’m the youngest of six kids. That gave me the benefit of having older brothers and sisters that could teach me things. Their experience made me wise beyond my years...although if you asked them they would probably say that I was just a wise ass.
Tommy's 17th birthday
l-r Tommy, Linda, Craig, Rick, Jan, me
Although my sisters gave me invaluable knowledge on how to do things and get away without be caught by my parents, my brother Tommy turned into EF Hutton for me – when he spoke I listened. He was 15 years older than me and was an electrical engineering student when I was just a little boy. He taught me to use his calculator when I was only 4 or 5. He trusted me to use his 8 track player and headphones, and I was amazed to hear his stories about the mainframe computer at college. The memories are a little hazy, but they remain.
I had always loved playing outdoors, but Tommy opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. When I was 14, I spent nearly the whole summer with Tommy. He had graduated college in 76 and left Southeastern Mass to work and live in Utica, NY. I spent a week with him at his apartment and then we set off on a month long adventure to the Canadian Rockies. We drove all the way across Canada, explored the Canadian Rockies, and then went down to Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and then back across the States. We never had an agenda. We just drove where we wanted and stopped where we wanted to spend some time. We camped, hiked, canoed, and went white water rafting and snorkeling. After the trip I spent another week in Utica before returning home.
Me and Tommy on the trail
Deck with a view
Me and Tommy taking the easy way up in a gondola
Tommy spent a lot of his free time in the Adirondacks. He was always hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, snorkeling, xc skiing, or white water rafting. He shared his passion for outdoor activities with me, but it was never forced it on me. He always asked me “what do you want to do?” During our Canadian Rockies adventure he would always give me the maps and ask “where should we go next?” and when we got there he would ask “what do you want to do here?” and then give me the guide book and let me pick a trail.
Yes, we wore cotton and jeans...it was the 80's
He taught me to snorkel and how to hold my breath. At my best I could hold my breath for 1.5 minutes, but that was only half of what Tommy could do…3 minutes. He was half fish. He was like that though, he was a master of everything that he did. He designed and built a custom Victorian home – with every detail perfectly planned out, right down to the angles of the rising and setting sun during different seasons.
What are you looking at?
Me, our nephew Michael, and Tommy out for a paddle
Tommy introduced me to the world of electronics and led me down the path of electrical engineering, although once again never pushing it on me. At 15 I was designing and building circuits in the basement. If I had a question, Tommy would give me 10 times the information I needed. He would buy books and magazines and mail them to me. He loaned me a computer for an entire summer. He always went out of his way to help me. 15 years after Tommy did, I graduated from the same school with the same electrical engineering degree.
VFTT came from my love of both the outdoors and technology. It is a direct result of the influence Tommy had on me. Learn, enjoy, share.
This past weekend, Tommy lost his long fight with illness at the age of 56. He never gave up and fought to the end. These few pages do not scratch the surface of what Tommy did for me and what he meant to me, but I just felt that part of the story needed to be told.
Tommy is survived by his daughter Katey, and wife Sarah
Aloha Tommy, you will always be loved and missed.
Your little brudda
