SALTY: The colorful adventures of a well-seasoned seadog

By Lon Calloway (Jill Loree’s cousin)

Introduction

For me, it was always about the motion. Not just the gentle rocking of a ship that made sleep such a pleasure, nor the heart-pumping thrill of going weightless in my rack as we tossed our way across some deep body of water. It was the fact I was on the move. That’s always been the best part. Going to sleep in one place and waking up in another was like being on a magic carpet.

It’s true, I dodged some shit with this way of life. Or as one early girlfriend put it, “Getting back on that boat is pretty damn convenient for you, isn’t it?” I admit, I wasn’t always there for those who stayed behind. But this has been my life, and over the decades I have become better and better at living it.

Through all the ups and downs, I’ve managed to live the most colorful life I could have imagined for myself, and I’m delighted to share some of the highlights with you. I hope you’ll be OK with the language. Truth be told, cursing is what made the ships go. So here it is: shipboard authentic and salty as hell. I could not tell these tales any other way.

– Captain Lon Calloway

From the back cover

When you’re out “on the salt,” the work is rough and the storms have no mercy. Yet the sun never fails to reemerge from behind the clouds, and if you look hard, a chuckle can be found.

Through this remarkable collection of stories—built from over 40 years working on the water—Lon captures the thrill of the action, the pain of the struggle, and the power of a good laugh. Because whether working as mate, quartermaster or captain, humor was always close by when Lon was on deck.

Salty takes you into this world filled with terror and triumph, and delivers a taste of an unfathomable life, working at sea.

Editor’s note

I had so much fun collaborating with my cousin Lon Calloway to publish his sea stories. I first became aware of them when I found them in a binder at my parents’ cabin in Northern Wisconsin. My dad, whose sister is Lon’s mom, was especially enamored with them and highly encouraged all of us to read them. “They are just so good,” he said.

One of the things I love about this is that my parents are in their eighties and both lifelong devout Lutherans. And yet there is so much heart in these fascinating stories—along with a ton of humor and touch of salt—that it makes our own hearts sing when we read them. At least mine did.

In my book, this is the essence of what it means to be spiritual: To uncover our inner light and let it shine out into the world. Nicely done, Cuz.

– Jill Loree

Note: I recommend reading Salty in the ebook format, as Lon’s stories include lots of colorful pictures!

©2020 Lon Calloway. All rights reserved.

Available in ebook and paperback | Amazon (including Kindle Unlimited)

WHY I LOVE MY NORWEGIAN HERITAGE: The life story of the Tollovsons, a.k.a. Thompsons

Compiled by Ed Thompson (Jill Loree’s Dad)

Preface

Much work and thought has gone into creating this collection of stories about the life of Anders Tollovson, as seen through the eyes of his family and others who knew him.

One source of information is from a book by Andrew’s granddaughter, Linda Thompson Mott. Other stories and incidents about Andrew came from several sources and will be indicated by name of who supplied the story. If no name appears, assume it to be me, Ed Thompson.

A great deal of information has been gathered from a tape recording of an interview with Andrew that was made in 1954. The recording was discovered by Jack Brown as he was going through his grandmother’s things. Jack is a great-grandson of Amanda, who was Andrew’s second daughter.

As I first listened to the recording, I realized Grandpa Andrew had lived a very special life. I also felt a sense of awe as I listened to him because I have done nothing to compare with Andrew and his generation. Let’s take a look at Andrew’s life and try to see what life events make up the life of a Norwegian like Andrew.

For it’s stories like those you are about to read that make me love my Norwegian heritage. I hope you appreciate this telling of his life.

–Ed Thompson

Editor’s note

My dad’s project, Why I Love My Norwegian Heritage, started out as a collection of stories about his grandpa Andrew, my great-grandfather. The idea arose from the discovery of an interview with Andrew that had been recorded in 1954, the same year Andrew died. To create this booklet, my father pulled together stories from that recording along with various family recollections about the man. It was my mother’s encouragement that more be included about Martine, Andrew’s second wife and my great-grandmother. As a result, this telling of their lives feels more balanced.

For while the work of farming the land was undoubtedly not easy, surely the work of bearing and raising 10 children in those times was also no simple matter. Yet it says something about the times—the late 1800s through the first half of the 1900s—that the stories passed down about women are harder to surface. For they are fewer and farther between. Because women’s work often wasn’t seen and appreciated the same way the men’s work was. Women, in general, weren’t seen and appreciated the same way men were.

My hat is off to both Andrew and Martine for their pluck and pioneering spirit. And I also commend my dad for creating this cache of remembrances about both their lives. Our generation stands on the shoulders of all our ancestors, the men and the women, who came before us. May they continue to lead us with the fine examples they set.

–Jill Loree

THE GIRL, THE FOX, AND THE SUNFLOWER: The courage to create union