RIP John H. "Longjack" Leo - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

mgburg · #1 07-17-2009, 01:48 AM

My condolences Randy...

sfloriII · #2 07-17-2009, 10:28 PM

My condolences to you and your family. I lost my dad in '98 and know how difficult it is.

BTW, my mother's side of the family is from Temple TX.

daveuz · #3 11-06-2009, 09:26 AM

Fascinating man. Reading about him reminded me of this song for some reason. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-_W18CWypE

Mistress · #4 11-06-2009, 10:04 AM

RLEO- I will be there in spirit, along with jezzebell and jamine.

Ara T. · #5 07-16-2009, 09:00 PM

Hang in there Randy.. I enjoyed reading about your dad's life. Sounds like he was a pretty cool guy.

MBlovr · #6 07-17-2009, 02:49 AM

You have been blessed to have a guy with that much character as your father.

t walgamuth · #7 07-17-2009, 05:42 AM

His story is one of a life well lived. I read it with interest, not realizing until well into it that it was your father.

I lost my dad about five years ago, like CMAC I was surprised how much I miss him, and still do pretty often.

I try to remember how he interacted with the grandchildren so I can do it with mine.

I am writing this through tears, but hell these days I am a crying machine.

Sharing your loss....

Tom

SwampYankee · #8 07-17-2009, 06:02 AM

Condolences from the Swamp clan.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Your dad certainly set the bar high, what a life! And you didi a great job of putting it into words, I can only imagine how tough that must be. Must be something in that Maine water, my dad (born I Bangor and raised in Newport) is also drawn to the sea.

Godspeed Longjack!

dannym · #9 07-17-2009, 07:47 AM

My condolences Randy.
Your dad sounds like an awesome man. Someone I would have liked to meet.

KarTek · #10 07-17-2009, 08:04 AM

Very sorry for your loss. When my father passes, I hope that I can honor him as eloquently as you have honored yours here.

Txjake · #11 07-17-2009, 10:07 AM

My condolences: you were lucky to have such a spirited, adventurous man for a father. May you have many great memories of him, until you you meet again. You just know he is up a mast somewhere, with the wind and spray in his face, smiling.

R Leo · #12 07-17-2009, 10:55 AM

Strange as it may sound, it is so comforting to have this thread.

I'd like to share an e-mail I received from an old, old friend earlier today:
________________________________________
Randy,

Please forgive me if this seems presumptuous on my part. I just needed
to get some things off my chest.

The poem at the end is the lyrics from a sea ballad about Lord
Franklin's ill-fated mission to open a Northwest passage to the orient.
I have an MP3 file of the song, which although I don't have permission
to copy it under the circumstances hearing it might better explain why
I included the poetry. You can download that mp3 at the otherwise
hidden URL:

http://www.windwardshore.net/franklin.mp3

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I once knew a legend, a mentor who befriended my family and introduced
me to sailing. This morning Long Jack Leo passed away, a steady guide
in my growing up years and an important member of the tall ship Elissa
community. In the last few weeks I visited him several times and I
thank God for the opportunity to have however briefly reestablished a
connection.

We did it right, I hope, even if belated. I pray our visits meant a
hundredth to him what they meant to me. The last time I was there we
stayed up most of the night, talking about dirt bikes, the ships he's
sailed, air and maritime museums, a thousand good memories of growing
up. As the sun set we hopped on a utility vehicle and bounced around
his son's ranchland, watching the stars come out and talking about
life.

Out there under the Texas sky Long Jack spoke of my Dad who passed
away in 1986. Both he and my Dad appreciated a certain folk singer,
and my mentor recalled it was said the singer died at an early age
because God needed a good balladeer. That's what my friend Long Jack
figured happened to my Dad, God decided heaven needed a good
storyteller.

God has a capable helmsman today.

Back at his home he showed me some knots and talked through how to lay
an ocean plat, we talked about navigation and seamanship, and on, and
on. A little beer and the stories flowed. A little later, a little
black rum, and I can say I once again had the privilege of
experiencing the kind of history always unfolding around my mentor.

On one of our visits Long Jack told me about some of his Gulf
crossings and I asked about how rough it could get out there. He
always had a calm way of looking at things and was someone you could
rely on under any circumstances, no matter how dire. You're never more
than two miles from land in the Gulf, he said. I looked at him like he
was crazy and he assured me, indeed, never more than two miles from
land anywhere in the Gulf. Straight down, of course, but never very
far from the good solid Earth.

Come what may, there are always things to have faith in. You might get
a little beat up, forty miles from nowhere on a dirt bike trail, or
drenched in a blow someplace you'd rather see in better weather, but
you can always find things to trust. A good line, belayed the right
way, the right spares, stowed where you can find them. You take care
of the little details, God will keep an eye on the big picture.

On our last visit I told Long Jack about the Texas 200 and he was
truly energized by the idea of small boats seeking such grand
adventure. He was a by-God kind and generous man, and very full of
life even though his respiratory system was close to ending his time.
The good simple fun of a gutsy trip up the coast was right down his
alley, and he wanted to follow the fleet next year in his RV, offering
what support he could from the land for anyone he could help.

No words express what my dear friend Long Jack meant, or what he
brought into the lives of those he loved. I committed a terrible error
in losing touch for many years but at least there were good times
shared these last few weeks.

On boarding a ship to do his part to keep maritime tradition and
history alive his first question was always, 'What do you expect of
me?' That's what I need to ask. If I'm so blessed, God will answer.

There's so much to do in this life, much more than there can possibly
be time for. In nine days I was due for another visit, and there were
things I wanted to ask Long Jack about, more stories to share, a
bowline variant I thought he might not have seen. Unlikely that, Long
Jack knew more knots than Ashley, but I wanted to show him what I
found.

I shall always miss my mentor and my friend but today I find I must
make extra accommodations for some of the sea he so loved. Tears are
saltwater, right?

It was homeward bound, one night on the deep,
Swinging in my hammock I fell asleep.
I dreamed a dream and I thought it was true,
Concerning Franklin and all his crew.

With a hundred seamen he sailed away,
To the frozen ocean in the month of May,
To seek a passage around the pole,
Where we poor sailors do sometimes go.

Through cruel hardship they mainly strove,
Their ships on mountains of ice was drove,
And only the Eskimo in his skin canoe
Was the only one that did ever come through.

On Baffin's Bay where the whalefish blow,
The fate of Franklin no man may know,
The fate of Franklin no tongue can tell,
Lord Franklin along with his sailors do dwell.

And know me hardship it gives me pain,
For my long lost Franklin I'd cross the Main.
A thousand pounds I would freely give
For the one on earth who says my Franklin do live.

suginami · #13 07-17-2009, 11:59 AM

Randy,

I have tears in my eyes after reading your eulogy of your father.

You are a very lucky man to have had such a wonderful man as your father.

I feel for you brother.