We just spent a couple of days in Agua Caliente with R. It was the tail end of my dry January and I was doing a lot of reflecting, especially when R told me he’d like to add one more place to the list of where he wants his ashes spread: the Agua Caliente airstrip on a windy day. The other places are Law Street beach on a windy day, Humboldt, and Mt. Rainier. If you follow the blog regularly you’ve undoubtedly seen R mentioned.

I knew R for years before he became my father-in-law. He worked at Sony in Rancho Bernardo, a short distance from Fins RB, where he was a regular and always sat at the same two-top. This was back when he was known as Gary.

Years later, when Amelia and I began cohabiting in sin, he used to pass on his Rolling Stone magazines to us. One day I noticed the little white address sticker on the magazine. (Remember when magazines were a thing, and they got delivered in the mail?) It stated R. Gary Perkins. My reaction was, what the hell? Who’s R? Amelia explained to me her dad’s name is Ronald Gary Perkins, but he has always gone by Gary. Well, from that day forward he became R! It was our little secret, until it slipped out in front of him one day. Now all my friends and most of Amelia’s refer to him as R.

He’s currently 77 years young, or as he likes to say, pushing 78. He has outlived every male on both sides of his family by decades. His doctor told him, whatever you are doing keep doing it. His recipe for success is moderation in all things. A little puff before his morning beach cruiser ride down the PB boardwalk all the way to the jetty. An occasional rum & coke with lunch, a lot of time in the water body surfing and martinis at night. If you’ve spent anytime in Pacific Beach you’ve probably seen R, he’s definitely part of the local color.

His hiking days are behind him as his feet have failed him. But when it comes to body surfing he’s the real deal and used to annually compete in the World Body Surfing Championships in Oceanside.

Knowing he’s on borrowed time makes him really appreciate life. His current refrain is: “I’m a lucky man.” He’s big on family and speaks fondly of his progeny and all three of his exes.

He’s also an acronym guy, always spouting A.N.G. (ain’t nature grand) and E.H.I.B, E.S.I.B (ever has it been, ever shall it be). And of course, being of that age, the old Hunter S Thompson line: “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” “Cha ching!” is also another saying he loves.

Like all humans, he’s not without faults. He’s gotten lazier with each passing year and lives by the motto, “Good enough for Gary.” He can be loud, opinionated, has boundary issues, and is not one to keep a secret.

As I like to say, R is R. And we love him.

 

 

They don’t make them like this anymore! R’s 2004 Toyota Tundra 4×4, closing in on 260,000 miles. A new Tundra is so wide it couldn’t make it through this tight spot.

Throwbacks from 2011!