As with many people I am heading home for the holidays. Back to the scene of the friendly flashing buoy of my youth. The below story written by my father shows why to this day I always still take notice of flashing buoys and lights as I arrive at work in the early AM.

Oh yes, the friendly flashing buoy. How it helped get my son to bed at reasonable hours during pre school years. Our home is located on the shores of Green Bay with Door County and it’s many lights in the distance. A couple of miles away from our house is a Coast Guard Lights buoy, #1A the Menominee Shoal Buoy also used as the Menominee Sea buoy.

At night this same view would show a red flashing buoy

An unintended use of this buoy came to light during the winter months while getting son Ike into the sack. After several trips the length of our home, we said good night to the Friendly Flashing Buoy.

A buoy much like the Freindly Flashing Buoy

If I didn’t walk too fast to Ike’s bed room he went to bed for the night. If I was fast walking him to bed he would say, “Do more walks.”

Off we would go and usually say good night, again, to the Friendly Flashing Buoy. Some times several times. In not many years Ike was introduced, close up, to the Friendly Flashing Buoy from our sail boat Perfection or maybe our sailing dinghy Amazon. Those were fun times!

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