His weathered face and ruddy cheeks announced that George Rector wasn’t an indoor guy. In fact, he’d spent 40 years on an ore carrier before becoming the superintendent of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy at Northwestern Michigan College.
Now, he sat behind a desk and behind that was a huge map — maybe three by four feet — of the Great Lakes. Not a decorative map but a working map by the Corps of Engineers covered with push pins showing the location of maritime cadets on the lakes.
“Do you miss it?” I asked.
“Every day,” he said, “even days like this.”
Outside, the clouds were heavy and the waves high. We were both thinking about the Edmund Fitzgerald and the annual November 10 service honoring all the sailors lost at sea.
Since my job at the college was marketing, I found many reasons to visit George and ask about his adventures. In my spare time, I helped him write a brochure about honey because raising bees was a new hobby.
When he announced his retirement from the Academy, it seemed too soon. Not for him, but for me. “I will miss you,” I said, “and your big map.” He grinned. “Want it?” he asked and carried it out to my car.
Now it hangs on my dining room wall, a cherished gift full of holes and stories.
