They say a picture is worth a thousand words, Well this photograph is certainly the one for me. It was an overcast day in the harbor of Portland, Maine; it was a day I will never forget Op sail 2000 was well under way, The tall ships were visiting for a weekend in July. The ships where beautiful and some would dock in Portland and be open for tours. Two and three mast schooners, briquettes and coastal frigates, square rigged sails and antique junks. The ships came from all around the world. The ship passing the light in this photograph is called the lebratard with all her flags flying. The lighthouse was decked out in festive banners and only a select few were allowed on the balcony of spring point light.
It was a summer day a bit cool and overcast, but over all a beautiful day in the state of Maine. The jetty was full of people and the harbor was full of boats, all came out to see the tall ships. Who would guess that there was a Hero of the day among the crowd?
My daughter and I joined the crowd of onlookers and started out the jetty, I stopped half way, she continued on to make the loop of the light. She asked me to go but I said no, I could not get any good photos of the light and the ships passing if I went down the jetty and further. I watched her walk away and then snapped this photo. That is her in center of the jetty in the white tee shirt and blue jeans.
About twenty minuets later she joined me and we sat down in the open space on the right side beside the blue chair where the man is standing in the tan shirt and green hat. We watched the parade of ships for about and hour, mom was busy taking photos, my daughter got board and decided to climb down the side of the jetty and put her feet in the water, mom was not paying attention. I had my eye glued to my camera watching the ships pass by!.
The next thing I know I hear my daughter say mom, mom, mind you I could not see her for I was sitting on the top of the jetty and the angle of the jetty is a bit steep. The next thing she said was mom, help me! I could not see her until I stood up. I bolted to my feet and saw my daughter clinging the jetty for dear life with just her head barely above the water. She was struggling to get back on to the rocks, but note in the photograph the green sea weed that is attached to the rocks where the tide was receding. She could not get a good hold and gain her feet she keep struggling on slippery sea weed and fell back into the water, she was not a strong swimmer at the time and the current around the jetty is very strong. I was in a state of panic when I saw her fall back into the water.
The man beside me was like supper man, in one bound he was down the side of the jetty and reached down in to the cold water and grabbed my daughter under the arms and lifted her up and out of the water as if she was as light as a feather. She was cold wet afraid and hurt, her hands and feet where bleeding from being all cut up on the barnacles that were hidden in the sea weed. Photographing the ships was over! I carried her piggyback off the jetty to the first aid station, they cleaned her hundreds of cuts and bandaged her up and warned us of infection and that she should see her doctor as soon as possible, though the cuts did not require stitches, they were like tiny paper cuts all over her hands and feet. And they did not want to stop bleeding.
It is a day neither of us will ever forget. She could not walk for over a week because of the cuts and pain in her feet. Mom should have keeping a better eye on her. I got lost in the eye of the camera!
Every time I look at this photograph I get goose bumps remembering just how close my daughter came to possibly drowning and all the bad cuts she received that day.
I find it amazing that I suffered a computer crash and lost 5 years of photos and this was the only photograph that an I T person was able to retrieve off the hard drive. I am forever very grateful to the man in the green hat, Words can not express my gratitude. The words thank you is so small for what this mad did. I still do not know this mans name or where he is from or anything about him, I just know he was the hero of the day..... Angels walk among us……….. my daughter dislikes this photo stating “that was not the best of days”
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, referring back to the image via your directions. So sad to hear of the computer crash, but uplifted by your angel. Thankyou. CC
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