Chuck

I am sure you have friends who can take any incident and turn it into a hilarious - and true - story.  Using impressions, funny expressions and the like, Chuck Widger is that guy.  While we were stranded in Hinton, Chuck joined Bart and Katie in Whitehorse.  I had never spent much time with Chuck, and I wish I had known him better.

Chuck and Bart are Ying and Yang.  They have their own names for each other, and they can make each other laugh just with a facial expression.  They have been through some interesting experiences (to say the least), and to hear Chuck tell about them keeps the conversation very lively.

Chuck says he is like his dad . . . he can have a full conversation with a stump and have a very nice day.  He is gregarious, friendly, uber-polite (I am not used to being called ma'am) . . . He thanked me after every meal (and some of them weren't that great), he helped every way he possibly could.

Neither Chuck nor I like coffee, so we had that in common, and he drank more iced tea than anyone except my brother.  When he brought all of his equipment to Bart before Bart left Albuquerque, he included an iced tea maker . . . and a cot.  As he said, "I am not going to be the one who can't survive if we get stranded!"

Chuck was enthusiastic about everything we did - from going to Chicken to fishing for halibut in terrible seas to driving for miles and miles.  He would be a welcome guest on any trip we ever take!

Panning for gold . . . and getting nothing!