Day 9 Body of Water- Howler

“B.C. man presumed drowned off Texada

A Vancouver man is presumed drowned after swimming in the ocean off Texada Island Friday night.

David Kevin Fletcher, 35, was reported missing on Saturday by friends who were with him at the Diversity music festival on Shingle Beach, on the island's lower west shore.

Fletcher's untouched clothes were found in a pile near the water, which indicates the man went in for a swim and did not come out, said Powell River RCMP staff Sgt. Andy Brinton.

Brinton said the waters were calm Friday night but the current can be strong along the coastline.”

I didn’t know that the man I have come to know as “Howler” was named David. I never met Howler, but I met many people at the festival, including Michael, who did. Howler it seems decided to walk into the ocean and ,by choice or circumstance, didn’t come back. It seems fitting that today was also the day that the winds howled, picking up the ocean, chopping it into waves making swimming impossible. So instead of swimming I ceremoniously washed my face, hands, and body in the cold ocean water, and thought about Howler. I thought of all the things I had learned about him. He almost always wore a jester hat, liked to bike naked and loved people with a deep and passionate heart; always willing to help. I will never know Howler, this is something that makes me sad.

“Is there someone you would like to know or know better?“ is the question in 12 days journal #90.

Be well Howler, wherever you are. My wish is that you have found what you were looking for. God speed.