David Clarinet Clark

"There's a message here that's important. People like me, we 1924 babies, aren't dead yet. You hear so much about young people and that's fine. But more credit should be given to us older people. We've still got a lot to do..."

David B. 'Clarinet' Clark, 2019, Age 95

My name is Clark. David B. Clark. The "B" stands for Bates, a family name. Each passing year my steps have become smaller, more uncertain and less steady as the passage of time exacts its inexorable toll. Aches and pains that were hardly noticeable a few years ago have fully matured, and now when I stand, my bones creak and groan.

I don't hear so good any more and can't see as far as I used to, but all my life I've been a gypsy a nomad and a dreamer with an unquenchable spirit, a thirst for adventure and an obsession fo travel. So despite reduced hearing, shortened vision, smaller steps, and creaky bones, the spirit is still strong. Only the flesh has weakened.

With heaps of experiences, I've lived a bunch of lives in the past eighty-two years. (now 95). Got shot at during World War II in the Italian Campaign, had over two hundred different jobs in my lifetime, been married three times, had five kids and more than one girlfriend.

The greatest experience of my life was establishing the world's record as the oldest person to sail solo around the world in a small sailboat.

With the trip behind me, the words behind my simple philosophy ring true. I don't believe in the words can or can't. Really, it's a matter of will or won't.

The greatest tragedy of my life was the death of my son David, who died of cancer of April 2009. This book is dedicated to my son David.

https://www.facebook.com/therealoldmanandtheseabook/?__tn__=%2Cd-k-R&eid=ARARBO9B3Rm8zcFAHWK_XgIOcbIOosfDLOwk8Yf6O9kWO8WAjT4plAHI165-__QnTwNv-KAfuw3R2_od

https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/16/sports/the-boating-report-a-single-minded-sailor-conquers-the-sea-solo.html