My father, Peter Gaddo.  How do I describe him?  Well, he was a true explorer.  Some would say he was a wanderer, but I would say a wonderer.  He wondered about so many places and things.  He loved the water, but wasn't a very good swimmer.  Thank goodness for buoyancy vests.  Let's see if I can list everything he "did".  He was a helicopter mechanic, paratrooper (reluctant), door-to-door salesman, advertising executive, business owner (Smithfield Carpet Outlet in NC), boat captain, master diver, dive instructor, ecotourism guide, Alligator Pete, and a writer. 

 

He was an accidental, yet purposeful scuba diver.  While at a lake one summer, there was a boating accident where two children went overboard with no life vests.  Although he did not  know the family, he and other boaters on the lake searched and searched.  He had a mask and snorkel, but the visibility was too murky.  He swore that if he were a diver with full gear, he could have saved them.  Within weeks, he and my mom were signed up for certification and he never looked back. 

 

He told me once what he really wanted to be was an artist. But, was told that that wasn't a way to make an honest living, so off to the Army he went.  He was very creative, but I only have one piece of his artwork that he did in high school.  He did graphic art when he was in advertising, but I don't have any of the that either.  He did self-publish his book that I typed as he wrote in long hand.  Perhaps, I will share some of his musings ....