Today was such a beautiful day outside. It’s almost the middle of October and we have weather in the 70’s. It’s perfect. I worked a little bit in the garage, moved some things around and then I come upon four diving air tanks. They belonged to Frank. He really took to diving in the last years of his life and managed to purchase every little gadget. It’s amazing how much gear a diver has! Anyway, those tanks take a lot of space so I call the local dive shop and ask if I can just bring them over. I load them in the car and as I drive away, I’m pretty careful not to have them shift around in the back. I turn around to check on them and then I spot it.

On the bottom of the tank is his name and his phone number. His phone number! For a second I think about calling it. Nah, it’s been so long… but what if his voice is still on there? Impossible. What if someone else answers? What do I say? I decide to just let it be. I think about Frank’s friend Tony, his reliever when he worked on the fishing vessel Providian in Maine. Tony passed away in an ATV accident one winter during the holidays and I remember Frank calling Tony’s phone and listening to the answering machine over and over. He cried the entire day… I can’t go back there, I can’t deal with listening to Frank’s voice again, it would be too difficult.

What would you do? Would you call?