I've known Steve for a little over 7 years now. Soon after meeting him, he discovered I also had a personal watercraft (PWC). He was enthusiastic to have a potential riding buddy to cruise the local Annapolis area waterways. We'd meet up for rides a few times a season, and a couple times we invited other co-workers to take turns riding our skis while using Steve's other boat as our floating base to hang out. As much as Steve enjoyed riding the PWC and being on the water, I think he also really enjoyed sharing his toys with others in the office. On these PWC outings I'd get a glimpse of his racing daredevil past, whether it was racing me down the Severn river and pulling away from me, running a slalom course through some unused mooring balls, or getting some air off a wave. On one of the team outings while he was having fun on my PWC, he came barreling towards the boat as we watched. As he got closer we expected him to stop or slow down, but he didn't. He got fairly close and turned hard seemingly at the last second and through up a huge wave of water at several of us on his boat. We were surprised and soaked, but it was all in good fun.
During the start of the pandemic we were all sent home for what we thought was going to be a week or two while Covid came and went. A couple weeks turned into a quite a lot longer. Since Steve was battling cancer he was away from the office for nearly a year. During that time we kept in touch and still managed to get a few PWC rides in together. There were two epic rides we were able to do, one was a trip from Annapolis to St. Michaels, and another was from Annapolis to Rock Hall. Both were great long distance cruises with great waterfront stops for a beer and a bite to eat.
Besides our PWC adventures, Steve and I both enjoyed working on our vehicles. Whenever discussing a car problem or some upcoming work that needed to be done, he'd offer up his help and use of his garage. I took Steve up on his offers a few times, and was glad to have his experience when I ran into a problem. He also helped me sea trial and inspect my first boat, perform the routine maintenance the first season I had it, and this Spring helped me with my first impeller change.
A few years ago, I started to run several times a week to pass time during my son's running practices and to lose some weight. Steve was always encouraging me on my running journey, and even braved a cold March morning to cheer me on during my first ever half marathon last year. I think my running in part might have motivated Steve to start working out in 2019. It was great to see him improving as his workouts progressed, and to hear him say how he actually felt better after working out.
