Emerald Isle Realty's Family Traditions Contest
Coming together with family and friends at the beach can create special memories as we all reconnect with each other. For our annual Family Traditions contest, we would like to hear about your favorite adventure or excursion on the Crystal Coast. Share your family traditions about a special place or a new discovery.
We invite all Emerald Isle Realty guests to enter. First place prize is a free one-week vacation on Emerald Isle during our Islander or Sports season!
Submission format rules are as follows:
- Tell us your story in an essay format, either printed or as a Word document.
- Scrapbooks, calendars or other special items are welcome.
- Maximum of 5 photos can be emailed. Limit to 2 MB each or 6 MB total per email submission.
- Video entries can be a maximum of 2 minutes in length and cannot have music. The preferred files are .avi and .mov, however, all submissions will be accepted.
- Include the date of your vacation and the name of your vacation rental property.
- Indicate if you would like your submission returned.
Submissions can be emailed to SummerFun@EIRealty.com or mailed to:
2012 Family Traditions Contest
Emerald Isle Realty
7501 Emerald Drive
Emerald Isle, NC 28594
Family History Winner 2011
Jean DesaixMany years ago in the late 1960s, when Peter and I were new biology graduate students at the coast on a collecting trip, we visited rental offices along Atlantic Beach and Emerald Isle. We were seeking a beach front property to rent for $100 for the week (which we thought was a lot). Being from eastern North Carolina, I had been coming to Atlantic Beach (and eventually Emerald Isle) all of my life. At each office where we sought a rental for $100, we were scoffed at -- until we met Jim Batten at Emerald Isle Realty. He said he had a property that he owned, so he could rent it to us for $100. He rented Fincannon (in the 200 block, just down the street from where the EIR office was at that time) to us. It was ideal. We could see the ocean in front and the sound out the back through the kitchen door (which was always open, of course, with no air conditioning). The Indian Beach pier was close enough that as the years went on and our twins were born (in 1977), Peter could fish at the pier and I could hang a big red cabbage bag on the outside shower head if I needed him to come back to the house (remember, no cell phones.)
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As other parts of our family began to join us, we outgrew Fincannon and stayed in many other properties. We have never missed a year in an EIR house since that very first year in Fincannon. Jim Batten almost sold us a cottage many times and when the new offices were built he joked that we owned one of the posts, having given the company so much business. Mary Batten was always the gracious hostess and would invite us to visit with them on their lovely porch that looked onto the sound. She loved sharing stories about her trips to Ireland. There's no way we would rent from anyone else- the Battens and the EIR staff had become family. When one of our favorite places was no longer with EIR, we found a different house for the next year because the service and hospitality of EIR was more important to us than any particular property.
There was a time, when our children were young, that our life was punctuated with time at the beach. We took our twin daughters out of school for a week in May (the week of my birthday and Mother’s day) and went to the beach where they still had “beach school.” They knew genus and species names of beach organisms before they knew common names. (Donax and Emerita and Ocypode albicans) Then our Girl Scout troop would come for Memorial Day weekend. We’d have our regular summer week, usually during the week that our daughters celebrated their birthday, and finish up the season by bringing our Episcopal Campus Ministry group down for Labor Day.
All of our relatives have joined us at some time or another. My father spent some time with us in the A-frame near the Indian Beach pier the year after my mother died in 1975. Peter’s parents spent time with us in 1978 after our daughters were born, both to help us with them and to have some family time. That first generation is no longer with us and we are now the oldest generation. Peter and I and our brothers with their families have, in various combinations, come most years. And now we have the youngest generation in the children of our daughters – the fourth generation to join us.
Last year, our beach plan was almost derailed. Our daughter's father-in-law (Ron) was diagnosed with incurable cancer. But he decided he was determined to come to the beach. We were skeptical, but, indeed, he and his wife flew in from St. Louis, as did my daughter, with her husband and daughter. Others flew in from Albuquerque. Peter and I drove from Chapel Hill. We all converged at RDU and began our drive to the beach.
We got a call, on our drive down, that our cottage was not going to be available due to an unexpected need for repairs; in our 30+ years with EIR, such a thing had never happened and our anxiety level skyrocketed because we knew that Ron was going to need to rest as soon as we arrived. At this point, a miracle/gift equal to that first one from Jim Batten occurred. Jaime Batten worked magic and arranged for us to be in a most wonderful property. When we arrived, there must have been 8 people cleaning to get the house ready for us (and they did a superb job). Remarkably, there was an elevator that Ron could use. By the second day, he was recovered enough from the trip to be able to make it to the beach! His bathroom had grab bars that were particularly important. The house was truly a miracle and we sent up many prayers of thanks for Jaime Wax, and for her family at Emerald Isle Realty.
All of us have beach pictures displayed in our homes – why, because the agenda is play and all our best comes out and all our worst is not called on. We look happy because we are, we smile because life is good, and we look like we love one another because the awareness of that love is with us every minute as we play together. This picture of Ron from last year does not look like the picture of a man who was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and who was, just the previous week, told that he will not be with us long. This wonderful picture demonstrates that time at the beach can lift our deepest concerns, at least for a while.
We will ALWAYS remember this particular beach trip because of the amazing generosity that EIR extended to our family in a time of grief and need. We have taken many, many pictures.
Thank you for the love and hospitality that we have felt from you all for four plus decades. We are so grateful to you all.
This is a picture of our family from 2011, smiling and happy.
Other memories from over the years include:
Jim Batten on his daily beach walk, barefooted and chewing on his cigar.
1977 staying at Red Fish Blue Fish for the marriage of Peter’s brother, Frank, which occurred at the surf’s edge by the full moon
Walking to the pier to call the pediatrician when our one-year old had a fever and there were no phones in the cottages.
Picking up our keys that were pinned to a clothes line after hours in the vestibule of the office on Second Street.
Amy and Anna eagerly going through the catalog of cottages in an attempt to find a house with a dishwasher so they would not have to be the dishwasher.
Our daughter’s first kiss in the darkened laundry room under our cottage.
Grandpa going down the water slide with our daughters the summer following his cardiac by-pass surgery and nearly causing all of us heart attacks.
Two Grandmas putting on a Talent Show for the grandkids on a rainy beach day: Seeing grandmothers dressed up in silly costumes and singing silly songs from their school days was a memory never to be forgotten.
Family Traditions Winner 2011:
The Green Family"The Turning of the Chairs"
First a bit of history: The Green family first discovered Emerald Isle back in the early 1990’s. We were stationed at Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro and it was an easy day-trip or weekend getaway; load up the van with the kids, cooler, beach toys, boogie boards, and umbrella then head down Highway 70 for the Crystal Coast. We visited many of the great beaches near us but absolutely fell in love with Emerald Isle—it became our favorite.
Our tour in Goldsboro ended in 1994 and we moved on to Omaha, NE and then, subsequently to Dayton, OH. As we met new friends, we raved about the beautiful North Carolina beaches and the fun our family had there. While stationed in Omaha, we met and became friends with the Muckey’s—our best and longest lasting friends. We did everything together in Omaha and kept telling them that we just had to get them to Emerald Isle. In 1998, I had a career change and we moved to Beavercreek, OH, a suburb of Dayton. Our families were heartbroken to be separated but we promised to keep connected and to get together often. During the fall and winter of 1998 we kept in touch as best we could and in the spring of 1999 we made plans to vacation together that summer. We were thrilled that we were going to see our dear friends again and that we’d be introducing them to Emerald Isle! Now, fast forward to the present and read all about the Green’s (and Muckey’s) Emerald Isle Family Traditions.
The first of our several Emerald Isle traditions begins as we cross over the bridge on Hwy 58 leading from the mainland to Emerald Isle—blasting the car audio system to Jimmy Buffett’s version of “Brown Eyed Girl” with the windows down and our voices serenading those lucky enough to hear! The very first time we visited Emerald Isle with the Muckey’s and were crossing the bridge we were listening to our Jimmy Buffett CDs and ”Brown Eyed Girl” played. As we crested the top of the span and took in the view, we rolled down the windows, smelled the fresh ocean air, and everyone in the van began singing at the top of their lungs. How bad we felt for those poor souls leaving the island. They certainly must have been jealous of the fun we were already having as we crossed the bridge to start our vacation. We re-enact this scene every time we arrive—and believe me the music is cranked-up and our singing is just as loud and off-key!
One of the next traditions--not exactly our favorite, but a tradition nonetheless--is the great logistics exercise of unloading the vehicle and heading to the Emerald Isle Food Lion. The men and kids usually get the chore of unloading all the various suitcases, coolers, grills, boogie boards, beach toys, beach chairs—well you get the picture. No matter how hard we’ve tried over the years, we always end up with a van load with every possible square inch of storage space utilized. It’s also amazing that the men usually end up carrying everything in as the kids mysteriously disappear down the walkway and onto the beach. No matter how many times we’ve pre-briefed our plan for unloading and putting things away, the kids somehow get a case of “beach amnesia” and forget everything we’ve said about helping out. After dropping our belongings at the beach house the next part begins—going to Food Lion. As this tradition goes, the wives go food shopping while the husbands and kids (OK, we know it’s not the kids!) put the house in order. A couple of hours later, the wives return and the men (See? No references to kids this time) carry in and put away the week’s groceries. The best part of this tradition (sarcasm intended) is that the men get to return to Food Lion almost every day to get more ice, soda, ice crème, freeze pops, chips, pizza rolls, bread, peanut butter and anything else that we’ve forgotten or need.
Our next tradition is much more enjoyable and is one we always look forward to. Living so far away from the coast, we really enjoy the great fresh seafood that we are able to get while visiting Emerald Isle. Of course, there are many good seafood restaurants in or near Emerald Isle. We choose, however, to cook our own and will visit Captain Willis Seafood shop every single day. When our children were young they would enjoy going to Captain Willis’ to see the great variety of fresh seafood available there. They were especially intrigued by the tray of soft-shelled crabs blowing bubbles. Some were even brave enough to touch them. Now as they’ve grown, each has their favorite fish or seafood that we make while there. Our tradition is to let them plan a meal around their individual favorites. The only caveat is that the parents get to choose to have grilled grouper once during the vacation—OK, so we actually have grilled grouper twice; after all, we’re paying for it and face let’s face it, you just can’t get enough of fresh grilled grouper.
All-in-all our weeks at the beach are like many of the families you’ll see visiting Emerald Isle. Boogie boarding, building sandcastles, flying kites, digging for sand fleas, and taking long walks to the pier and soaking up the sun—as my wife is fond of saying, “It’s just a beautiful place.” Which leads me to our next and probably favorite tradition—we call it, “The Turning of the Chairs.”
The tradition of “The Turning of the Chairs” began that very first vacation with our friend’s the Muckey’s. Back in 1999, our children were all fairly young. That first year, on our first full day on the beach, the kids had pretty much worn themselves and us out! It was late in the afternoon and they had all trekked back through the sand, up the boardwalk, into the house, and had collapsed in front of the TV watching a Disney movie. Of course, we parents were tired as well, but having gotten the kids settled in the house we decided to stay on the beach of few more minutes to enjoy the late afternoon sun… and peace. We all opened a cold beverage and just sat facing the ocean. What a beautiful dark blue the water was. How fresh and clean the air smelled in the sea breeze. It was in a word, perfect. Or so I thought. There was one small issue…the sun was now to our right as we faced the ocean. Well, this was a problem. How could our wives maximize their tanning opportunities while the sun was in the wrong place? The answer:” The Turning of the Chairs!” What a brilliant idea! I’d like to say I thought of it, although with the passage of time I’m not sure who deserves the actual credit.
For those of us with the beginnings of a sunburn, no matter how much SPF 45 lotion had been slathered on, it was the perfect opportunity to turn about and face away from the sun. What a concept! One could turn the chairs and face each other to talk. As we sat there enjoying each other’s company, eating spicy Cheese-Its, and enjoying a cold Corona we had found, as the song says, “ … our own kind of paradise.” With the sun beginning to slowly descend our moment of splendor was interrupted by the sounds of our children shouting down to us, “What are you guys doing down there?” We looked at each other, shrugged, and answered, “We’re turning the chairs!” At first the kids looked at each other with a look of confusion, and then, they made their way back down to join us. We sat, talked, laughed and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful late afternoon and setting sun. Now, each time we make our pilgrimage to Emerald Isle the Turning of the Chairs has become an almost sacred daily ritual.
The best part is, as our children have grown into young adults, they too look forward to The Turning of the Chairs. It has become that special time of the day when we all gather to reminisce and share our special memories. It is full of stories of past beach weeks; the time one of the boys lost his trucks in the surf; or the year we sat out one 4th of July and watched the fireworks up and down the entire coast; the times we’ve watched a pod of dolphins swim up the coast; or the time we all built the world’s best and largest sandcastle. How precious that time spent turning the chairs has become to all of us. This past summer the Muckey’s were unable to join us during our week at Emerald Isle. The Green’s still turned our chairs but it somehow wasn’t quite the same. The cold-hard fact is that time marches on and our lives and circumstances change. There is, however, a happy ending to this tale of traditions. Though we greatly missed the Muckey’s this past year they will be going back with us next year! They are as excited as we are to reunite at Emerald Isle. Even more special is the fact that we will be introducing another family of dear friends to Emerald Isle this coming year! The Martin’s of Ann Arbor, MI will be joining the Green’s and the Muckey’s. They too have heard our wonderful stories and look forward to experiencing our many traditions. We can hardly wait for that special time when the Martin’s experience all the best of Emerald Isle and our favorite family tradition--The Turning of the Chairs.
Warm Regards,
The Green’s
Family Traditions 2011 Runner-Up:
The Luck Family
God’s Plan at Emerald Isle
Family traditions help us define who we are;
they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world;
Author Unknown
Growing up as a child I always looked forward to the last day of school in June as I knew I was leaving in seven days to go to Emerald Isle for one week! It has been a family tradition to go to Emerald Isle every June since I was four years old. My father and mother made sure that no matter what went through during the year we would go on our family vacation. We always kept a calendar on our fridge with the date of the beach and would start in January counting down the weeks, days, hours, minutes that we would be going to the beach. As my brother and I got older we continued to go to the beach with our parents as our annual family vacation never stopped. My brother is now forty one with two children ages nine and fourteen. I am now thirty eight years old wth two boys ages fourteen and seventeen. All of our children love going to the Emerald Isle with the family and we have kept all the same traditions that my brother and I shared as kids.
I remember as a kid as soon as my father’s truck hit the “big” bridge the tradition was to all put our hands out the window with the I love you symbol! I could smell the beach air and knew it was going to be a great week at the beach!! I always remember that we would pull over to let my father go ahead of us as he would have to pull into Emerald Isle Realty as soon as we saw the big lifeguard chair with the guy waving at us. Dad would give the address to my mother and she would let my brother and I go find the actual house we were staying in. Riding up and down ocean drive was always so much fun looking for the address.Once we found the “perfect” beach house that my mom and dad had picked for our week at the beach we would pull in and jump out of our vehicles. We ran down to the end of the walkway to see the beautiful ocean. My brother and I were always so excited to see the ocean! As soon as I heard gravel popping I knew my fathers truck was pulling in. We all would run to the front door waiting on my father. The anticipation of my father opening the door at our beach house was over whelming! As soon as we got in the door we would run up the stairs to make our choice of which bedroom was ours! We would split up the duties of unloading, putting sheets on the bed all while our mother headed to Food Lion to get the weeks groceries! As soon as our duties were done we would head straight to the beach for a few hours of fun! My father was an avid fisherman and was up every morning around 5AM to head out on the beach to fish and by the time we got on the beach he never turned us down on a boogie board run in the ocean! Even though he was tired by the time we got on the beach he still jumped the waves only to push us a few times on our boogie boards! My father was the best at helping us catch a wave. He could always pick the biggest wave and we would scurry to get on our boogie boards anticipating the waves arrival! To this day we continue to have breakfast every morning on the patio, watch the sun set nightly at the beach, and enjoy grabbing our flash lights to take our own kids crabbing on the beach at night. Our only nightly outing is to take the kids enjoy going to eat at Flippers restaurant and then heading to golfin dolphin. My father was a firm believer in taking turns cooking a meal for our family and enjoying a game of cards, Sorry, Connect Four and then going out to play on the beach. Our week always ended way to soon yet I know we leave with new memories that we can cherish.
God always has a plan in our lives and we never know when our family traditions would change. Emerald Isle has been part of our family since 1978. However our family tradition was about to change but God had a plan. In May 2009 my father began having terrible headaches and vomiting. My father was the type that if he was not working he was fishing or working in his yard. He was so sick he could not lift his head off of his pillow. He was very sick for a week until I finally forced him to go to the doctor. On that very day my world fell apart. The doctor found a lump under his arm pit. He sent my father for a CT scan which showed that my father had a huge tumor in his chest cavity that had to be removed. On May 23, 2009 the tumor was removed and we waited for the news from his surgeon. On May 27, 2009 my father was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma at the age of 58yrs old. Due to his increasing headaches he was admitted and a MRI of his brain. On my 36th birthday my father was told he had a brain tumor on his brain stem that was inoperable. The Oncologist told my father that they were going to try 14 rounds of raidiation to see if they could shrink the tumor on his brain stem. I looked at my father and noticed he was counting on his fingers the days. I asked him why he was counting and he said, “I want to make sure that this radiation is not going to interfere with our trip to Emerald Isle. “ My father had always made for sure that our family had that one week at the beach and he we all knew how important his family was and that you always need to get away from lifes hustle and bustle to spend an uninterrupted week with your family. I began to cry as I knew that our family vacation meant so much to him.
My father was determined that he was not going to miss our vacation. We got out a calendar and realized that it was going to interfere with his radiation. My father told me that he would skip his last two radiation treatments so we would not miss our trip! I knew in my heart that his radiation doctor was not going to allow him to do that. I told my father that I would see if my brother could possibly call Emerald Isle Realty and move the trip up a week. My father began to lay his head back and I could hear a sigh of relief. That afternoon my brother called Emerald Isle Realty and asked about the house that we had already booked to see if it was availble a week later than what we had scheduled and explained the situation. Emerald Isle made a phone call to the owner and they agreed to allow us to bump our vacation up a week so my father could come down!!! Our entire family was so excited that we were still going to get a trip to the beach with my father!!! My mom began to cry as she looked at the calendar to see that it was Father’s Day weekend! As soon as we were able to tell my father he just smiled and told us there was a reason and that GOD had a plan!
It was a long four weeks of radiation but I knew that with my father knowing he was going to the beach he would push himself through. He became weaker and lost all of his hair. But that did not get him down as everyday he went to the calendar and put a big red X over the day and would stand there and pray that God would keep him here so he could go to the beach. The week of our trip was quickly approaching. We took my father to his radiologist who told us that dad had completed his treatment and they would rescan dad when we returned from our trip! My dad had an extra skip in his walk as we left the office. When we got in the truck he told me to pack my bags as we were to going to the beach and have a lot of fun! I don’t think he slept the whole week as he was busy putting the final touches on his fishing rods, checking his fishing box, etc.
The Saturday finally arrived to leave for the beach! Early on that Saturday morning my brother and I met at my parents house to pack up three vehicles up of all of our kids luggage, fishing rods, and my parents luggage. I knew this trip was going to be different as we had never had to pack the vehicles before. In years past our father always had things packed the night before. It took us a while to get my father up and ready and out the door but we managed to get his frail body in the truck for a long ride to Emerald Isle. He still had that grin and was so happy to be heading there to Emerald Isle. After four long hours of riding we finally made the turn at the stoplight where the bridge was. I was following my brother up the bridge and I see the passenger window roll down..at that moment my heart skipped as I saw my fathers frail arm come out the window holding his hands up with the I love you sign! I just smiled knowing that even though he felt awful, was in pain, at that moment he did not care. He was with his family on at the beach!!!
Once we arrived at the beach house we got the family settled in my father told me to go get the fishing rods and rod holders. He explained to my boys that he was going fishing the whole day on Sunday (Fathers Day) and if they wanted to go and learn how to fish this was the time to do it. My boys had spent years digging for sand fleas and running to give the bucket of sand fleas to my dad but had never actually ”learned” how to fish. Now that they were 15 and 13 it was time. However my dad told them that they had to get up at 6am! My boys moaned but knew by looking at my father’s face this was going to be the last chance to fish with him. They sat in the floor and helped my father get prepared for the next day of fishing.
That morning I woke up at 7am and ran to the window. I looked out only to see my father and my boys fishing at the edge of the ocean. I saw my father teaching my boys how to throw a rod into the ocean. Within seconds I saw my father clapping and smiling as my oldest son began reeling in a fish flopping back and forth out of the water. I ran down the steps to see what my son had caught! It was a baby shark! Yet my father was so excited! At lunch I told my father he needed to come up and eat lunch. He looked at me and said, “Just bring me a sandwich down to the tent.” At that time I saw the look in his eyes, no words were spoken, yet I cried all the way to the beach house knowing that he probably would not fish anymore that week. The rest of the day my boys and my father fished and caught a lot of different types of fish! We finally ended the day on the beach around 4pm as my father was feeling weak. We loaded everything up and took him to the beach house. I knew he was exhausted but he asked to sit outside with the boys. I saw him pull out a permanent marker and write on their fishing rod holders….June 21, 2009, Jacob Luck, Fisherman…June 21, 2009, Austin Glisson, Fisherman. My boys were all smiles as my father told them they had earned the new fishing rods and rod holders!! It is a day that my boys will never forget. We enjoyed a nice meal from Flippers that evening and followed with watching my father open up his fathers day presents.
The following morning my mother called me to their room. I went upstairs to see my father laying in the bed weeping. He told me that he was hurting all over and was too weak to even get up. I called in to his Oncologist who told me that my father was probably dehydrated and we needed to increase his pain medication to keep him comfortable. Throughout the following days my father was able to spend time on the porch as well as on the beach. I saw him always talking to the neighbors but I never thought much of it as he was such a friendly person. By Thursday my father was getting to the point he could not get out of the bed. His pain was increasing and his body was getting weaker. It took my mom and brother to get my father up and down the steps as he was so weak but he was determined to be with his grandkids. On that Friday morning I woke to hearing my mother crying. I went downstairs to see her trying to make her breakfast. She looked and me with tears flowing down her cheeks telling me that my father did not have much longer. She told me that we could not stay any longer and we had to get him back home. So I went upstairs to gather all the grandkids and my brother to tell them we made a go ahead and pack up and take pawpaw on home. I don’t think I have ever packed three vehicles that fast nor had I run up and down so many flights of stairs to get things in the vehicles. As we were walking my father to the car he stopped and asked us to walk him over next door. I told him we didn’t have time to as we needed to leave. He looked at me and said, “You may not understand why now but you will one day. “ I just need to hug her one more time?? I was confused but I walked my father over to the neighbors staying next to us. He explained why we were leaving early and even hugged the neighbor and her husband goodbye. As we pulled out of the beach house my father looked at my brother and said , “Do not ever stop coming here as when I leave this earth this is where I will come back too.” As we all cried we drove home. It seemed my father became more distressed and in pain than normal. I realized then that my father had not told us the full extent of his pain, discomfort, and weakness while we were at the beach. I knew then that his days were numbered. We decided to drive my father straight to the hospital with our beach bags still in the truck. My father was admitted due to his pain and we slowly began to see his organs shutting down one by one. A few days later while laying there in the hospital room beside my father I asked him why did he not tell us he was in that much pain while we were there. He told me, “I wanted to be with my family one last time.” Then he closed his eyes….On July 26, 2009 my father went peacefully to be with his Lord and Savior in heaven.
A few weeks later my mom called my brother and I to come over. She was standing at her door anxiously awaiting our arrival. I went in only to see her holding a letter and photo. I read the letter that is written below:
DEAR MRS. GLISSON,
I REALIZE THAT THIS LETTER IS LATE, BUT IT IS HARD FOR ME TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS. I GUESS I WILL START FROM THE BEGINNING.
A SUMMER VACATION AT THE LAST MOMENT. MUCH NEEDED DUE TO MY SPIRITS WERE AT A LOW. AS YOU KNOW I HAVE BEEN ON THE NATIONAL LIVER TRANSPLANT LIST FOR SOMETIME NOW. I WAS NOT FEELING WELL AND WE HAD MANY DISAPPOINTMENTS OF OPPORTUNITIES OF POSSIBLE TRANSPLANTS. MY HUSBAND MICHAEL AND I NEEDED RECONNECTION WITH FAITH AND SPIRIT, WE HAVE ALWAYS FELT CLOSEST TO THE LORD WHEN WE ARE AT THE BEACH. TO WATCH THE OCEAN AND THE SOFT SOUNDS OF THE SURF ARE SO COMFORTING.
SHORTLY AFTER ARRIVING OURSELVES WE NOTICED YOUR FAMILY UNPACKING. I SAID TO MICHAEL, WHAT A LARGE FAMILY AND IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE LOVES TO FISH WHEN WE NOTICED THE FISHING GEAR THAT WAS BEING UNPACKED.
LATER THAT AFTERNOON WHILE SITTING ON OUR DECK, WE HEARD A VOICE COME OVER THE RAILING. IT WAS STEVE, A MAN THAT APPEARED TO HAVE NO TROUBLE IN THE WORLD. THROUGH OUR INITIAL CONVERSATION AS YOU KNOW THAT WAS NOT THE TRUTH WHEN STEVE SHARED HIS STORY. SHOCKED BY WHAT I HEARD, I FELT AN IMMEDIATE CONNECTION WITH STEVE.
I SHARED MY STORY WITH STEVE AS WELL AND IT FELT GOOD JUST TO TALK. ALTHOUGH STRANGE I FELT THAT I HAD KNOWN STEVE ALL MY LIFE. I WAS NOT FEELING WELL ENOUGH TO SPEND ALOT OF TIME ON THE BEACH, SO WE WATCHED AS YOUR FAMILY SPEND THE WEEK FISHING AND PLAYING IN THE SURF. I SAID TO MICHAEL SEVERAL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE WEEK WHAT A GREAT FAMILY, AS WE ENJOYED WATCHING YOU ALL HAVE SO MUCH FUN!
MICHAEL LOOKED FORWARD EACH MORNING TO SEE STEVE, WITH A PLEASANT HELLO AND A SMALL CONVERSATION. AS THE WEEK PROGRESSED WE NOTICED THAT STEVE HAD SOME GREAT AND NOT SO GREAT DAYS, AS I CAN RELATE TO THOSE FEELINGS MYSELF. FRIDAY CAME AS WE STILL HAD TWO DAYS LEFT AND STEVE HAD COME OVER TO SAY GOOD BYE, AS HE NEEDED TO CUT THE VACATION A LITTLE SHORT DUE TO NOT FEELING WELL. IT WAS SUCH A PLEASURE TO HAVE THIS TIME WITH STEVE, AND ONE LAST CONVERSATION.
AS YOU WERE PULLING OUT HEADED BACK HOME, I FELT SUCH A GREAT SINCE OF LOSS, YET KNOWING I HAD A FRIEND FOREVER. AS I WATCHED YOUR VEHICLES GO UP THE ROAD I CRIED FOR A MOMENT HOPING EVERYTHING WOULD BE WELL WITH YOU AND STEVE, THAT OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS WITH THE BOTH OF YOU ON THE JOURNEY THAT LIED AHEAD. IT WAS A MIRACLE TO MEET A PERSON IN SUCH A SHORT TIME WHO TOUCHED US IN WAYS WE WILL NEVER FORGET.
STEVE HAD SENT MICHAEL SOME SAMPLES OF PRODUCT THAT HE WAS SELLING AT THE TIME. OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS MICHAEL WAS INFORMED OF STEVES PASSING. MICHAEL MADE IT A POINT TO WAIT TO TELL ME WHEN HE GOT HOME FROM WORK. I IMMEDIATLEY KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG WHEN HE HAD A CRACKING IN HIS VOICE. WE HELD EACH OTHER AND CRIED DEEPLY AND WE WERE OVERWHELMED WITH SORROW FOR YOUR LOSS AND A PASSING OF A GREAT MAN.
THAT EVENING I HEARD A VOICE THAT SAID, "I AM OKAY, PLEASE DO NOT WORRY."
I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO THINK! OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS AS I WAS TRYING TO GET MY THOUGHTS TOGETHER SO I COULD SEND YOU A CARD, DUKE HOSPITAL CALLED ME. THE PHONE CALL STATED THAT THEY HAD A LIVER FOR ME AND THAT IT WAS ONLY FOR ME AND WILL NOT BE COMPATIBLE FOR ANYONE ELSE. THROUGH OUT THE TWENTY HOURS WAITING FOR SURGERY THE LAST FEW WERE A BLUR.
AS I WAITED I PRAYED AND THEN OPENED MY EYES AND HEARD A VOICE AGAIN SAYING, "HONEY YOU WILL BE FINE"..I THEN FELT AN OVERWHELMING SENSE OF PEACE. IT HAS NOW BEEN 14 DAYS SINCE MY SURGERY AND I AM AT HOME RECOVERING WELL. I FEEL THAT I HAD AN ANGEL WITH ME THAT DAY OF SURGERY...AND I CALL HIM "STEVE". I WANT TO SAY TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY THAT YOU WERE ALL BLESSED TO HAVE STEVE IN YOUR LIVES. AS FOR MICHAEL AND I STEVE WILL ALWAYS LIVE IN OUR HEARTS FOREVER AND WE WILL NEVER FORGET HIM.
GOD BLESS~DEBORAH B.
Dad and Deborah B. @ Emerald Isle June 2009
I think my mom, brother and I sat on the couch weeping after reading this letter! My father knew that this lady who was our neighbor at the beach had nine failed liver transplant attempts. Her doctors had told her that she would probably not get another transplant. When my mom spoke with Deborah she told my mother that was one of the reasons her and her husband were at the beach as it was going to probably be her last trip. My father believed otherwise! It also answered my question as to why my father wanted to so desperatly tell them goodbye on his last day at the beach.
I feel that our family knows that God put us at the beach house at the time we needed to be. All of this was Gods plan! Being at Emerald Isle was exactly what my father wanted and needed. He wanted that final trip as a family. It is an amazing feeling to know that we were sent to the beach with my sick father at the time that we went. My father knew a lot more than my brother or I did and it just warms my heart to understand Gods purpose.
A year of grieving my family really needed to get away. We all knew where our hearts were and where we wanted to go for our time away. However due to my father passing away so young we knew it was going to be hard on our mother. We really did not have the money to take a big trip to Emerald Isle. However we knew that our father’s spirit will always be at Emerald Isle and were praying that our mother could find some peace and sernity being at Emerald Isle.We knew that nothing meant more to us than making sure our mother and kids could go to the beach. We saved $50.00 a week each and in January 2010 we were able to book our trip for that summer! We knew that our mother wanted to go back to the beach house where my father spent his last “healthy” week at the beach! My brother called crying telling me we had that same house booked!!!When my brother and I got our tax money we were able to pay for the rest of the trip and were excited to tell our mother where we were headed!!
Our drive was quiet but I knew that we were all going through the memories of the past thirty years. As soon as I saw the bridge I think I smiled for the first time in over a year. It was an amazing feeling as I felt my father in me for the first time. My brother drove his car up to the bridge and as I looked out my window I saw his hand come out of the truck. It was the “I LOVE YOU” sign! My boys , mom and I all started to cry and rolled down our windows to show the I love you sign! I cried as I went over the bridge. As soon as I saw the lifeguard stand I turned in. It was funny that for the past thrity years I had not once pulled in to Emerald Isle Realty! I had no idea where to go or what I was doing as my father had always handled that part of the trip. However the Emerald Isle staff was right there to help us out as to what we were to do. We drove over to the house that we had stayed in the previous year. The house looked just like it had two years ago. As I walked out on the porch I could hear laughter and the waves crashing. I went to the edge of the porch to look down only to hear little kids feet running out to see the ocean and smiling that they too had arrived at Emerald Isle. I knew then that my father was in heaven shining down and I knew a new season of tradition had just begun.
Emerald Isle Realty helped us to make my father’s last and final wish come true~Thank you for caring about your customers! It such a great feeling to know that you not only care about what you do but Emerald Isle Realty has a passion about helping families make great memories and continue family traditions at the beach!! We love you all!
The best lesson we could learn from our grandparents is to cherish every moment...
Jacob with his grandpa learning how to fish June 2009 
~What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life~
Author Unknown
Austin with his grandpa learning how to fish June 2009
A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart. ~
Author Unknown
Austin at the age of 4yrs old at Emerald Isle ready to fish with Grandpa 
~A Grandpa is someone you never outgrow your need for~
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