And this is his brother, our other friend, Matt Daniel:
Ross and Matt have been friends for years, so we know them not only through St. Peter the Apostle Church, the Daniel Golf Tournament, and various parties and gatherings, but we also know them because they used to supply Stephen's lumber when they worked for their family's business, Daniel Lumber Company.
Due to the recent housing crisis, Daniel Lumber has taken a sabbatical. Perhaps we'll see it return soon. I sure hope so because the company has a long history. But in the past few years, the Stephen Remler family has remembered the company fondly by consistent wearing of the Daniel Lumber sweat shirts and long-sleeved tee shirts, for which we have Matt to thank, because he was the Daniel Lumber tee shirt commissioner.
Stephen has always been especially fond of the long-sleeved tee shirts. They serve as comfy inner layers on all five of Savannah's bitter cold January days, and they are comfy for sleeping, especially on camping trips. In fact, Stephen got his first Daniel Lumber long-sleeved tee shirts about ten years ago at the lumber company's annual customer appreciation party, and he has worn them until they began to fall apart.
Last summer, when the collar began to detach itself from the rest of the shirt, Stephen declared that the trusty Daniel Lumber tee shirt had seen its last days. So on the next annual river trip, he would cremate it (I thought it would be more of a tribute to Ross and Matt if he starched and ironed it and then presented it to them in a decorative shadow-box frame, but Stephen said that was a little too sentimental and the cremation was more appropriate. Whatever).
So the day of the river trip arrived on January 2nd. Stephen put on the Daniel Lumber tee shirt over his long underwear, but under his wool plaid shirt. In the photo above, you can not only see how the shirt is in tatters, but also how cold WSAV's Lee Haywood predicted it to be that day on the Altamaha.
Once dressed, packed, and sufficiently fed, Stephen, Davis, and Lawson hitched their boat up to Clifford the Big Red Truck and set out for the Altamaha River to hook up with a baker's dozen other crazy middle Georgia men who love to freeze their behinds off for four days every winter:
Once they arrived, it was clear that the Remlers had prepared well. Hugh's boat had a competent supply of goods....
Upon arrival at the camp site, all sixteen scruffy men set up their camp sites and built a big fire. Stephen, Davis, and Lawson set up their tent, complete with hot tub, miniature golf course, and cocktail lounge:
And just when they finished, Davis shot himself a wild hog, which he, Lawson, and Don immediately flayed. They cooked a part of it for dinner that night, and then they brought the rest of it home so we could eat it for dinner Sunday (oh, boy!):
I've received requests not to upload photos of the hog flaying. If anyone is interested in seeing them, just email me and I'll share them with you.
By the time dinner was over, Stephen was about ready for bed. It had been a long day. So before he put on his jammies, he declared it time to bid farewell to the beloved Daniel Lumber tee shirt.
I am reminded of Book 23 of The Iliad, in which Achilles shears off his hair. Then he sacrifices horses, dogs, and twelve Trojan captives before putting his friend Patroclos's body on a funeral pyre. I suppose one could say the Daniel Lumber tee shirt got a similar sending off. Davis's hair is shorn about as short as it can get. And the men did sacrifice a hog. If only they'd had a box of Trojans, they could have thrown it on the fire before the farewell ceremony. Maybe next time.
Anyway, the time finally came to bid farewell to the Daniel Lumber tee shirt:
And there you have it: the end of an era. Now I have to search the coastal Georgia area for another set of extra large long-sleeved tee shirts for Stephen. Even if I find them, they won't be the same. I'll miss looking at that Daniel Lumber logo.
