October 9, 2012

The Milkman’s Son

By Tracy C. Baker

A “Not So Bad” Life   #153

In Memorium – Luiz Sequeira

So, we are standing on a cliff in South Dakota, overlooking the Badlands and enjoying the view.  We are speechless and awestruck by the majestic beauty of nature. Out of nowhere, a voice quietly says…

“This is not so bad.”

I start to giggle; then I start to laugh.  Next thing I know I am laughing so hard I nearly fall off the cliff and into the abyss.

Thus was the subtle wit of my dear friend and compadre, Luiz Sequeira.  Along with Winnie and his wife, Manuela, we have traveled the world to China, Macau, Portugal, Canada, and all around the U.S.; nearly 100,000 miles all told.

Born in the Portuguese Colony of Macau in the 1930s, he and his twin brother grew up on the small island.  His father died when he was quite young and Luiz went to work to help support the family.  Surrounded by water, he took to the seas and became quite an efficient sailor.  He and his sailing team nearly made it into the Olympics.  However, the Portuguese government didn’t want a colony representing them and his dream was dashed.  Before he passed, he purchased a small sail boat and again took to the waters of the Bay, sailing whenever he could.

He worked for the Portuguese Government in Macau, becoming Administrator of Coloane, one of the Islands that make up the Colony.  He met Manuela when she was only 16 and she and he were married in a double ceremony with Manuela’s sister Fernanda and her husband Umberto.  Winnie and I had the distinct honor of visiting the church where they were married when we accompanied them to Macau in 2007.  They celebrated their 50^th anniversary earlier this year.

They immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1970s when Macau was wracked by Chinese communist uprisings.  Luiz went to work for the City of Oakland when they owned the Oakland Museum and spent the rest of his working life there.  After they retired, they purchased an apartment in Sintra, Portugal and travelled there often to visit relatives and to just soak up the Portuguese culture he so loved.

The four of us first started taking short trips to places like Tahoe and Yosemite.  Then, in 2000, we stretched ourselves and Winnie and I flew to Europe, traveling across France and Spain and meeting up with them for a wonderful two weeks in Portugal.

Luiz’s wit first shined through to us on this trip, when he took Winnie and I on a tour of the Palacio de Pena in Sintra.  While we were touring the kitchen, we noted the 100s of copper molds hanging on the walls.  As I snapped away with my camera, Luiz said…

“Wow!  They must of really liked Jell-O.”

Our next jaunt was a trip across the U.S. in 2002.  Manuela and Luiz had just bought their BMW and we decided to break it in with a 5,000 mile trip to the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone National Park, Custer’s Last Stand, The Devil’s Tower, Mount Rushmore, The “Not So Bad” Lands and then back to Utah, Reno and home again.  We chased after bears with our cameras, nearly hit a moose, locked the car keys in the trunk in Yellowstone, climbed the rock fall around Devil’s Tower (while the girls kept yelling at us, “Come down, come down, you are going to kill yourselves!”) and ate Buffalo Ribs in Cody, Wyoming.

A side note, I never met someone who enjoyed his food so much as Luiz.  The man was a wisp of thing, but he could put away 5 pounds of Buffalo ribs like no one else.  Wherever we went, whatever they were serving, he would dig in and enjoy.  We would always ask,

“How are you enjoying that steak (or fish or whatever)?”

And his answer would always be

“Deeeelicious!”

We continued our travels over the years to Whistler, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Banff National Park, back to Portugal, then on to China, Macau and Hong Kong, Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Park and Crater Lake.

Luiz and I, along with cousin Dino from Portugal, travelled back to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Sedona, Arizona.  With our friend, John Marchand, we hiked Half Dome in Yosemite and Mount Lassen in Northern California. 

Now, there is one thing I have to point out.  Luiz was not good with directions.  Anyone who has rode with Luiz while he was driving knew this…they also knew they were putting their life on the line as he drove down a set of stairs in the Algarve or decided to make a sudden u-turn on Highway 50…which is the reason that I took over all the driving on our trips.  It is also the reason NOT to leave Luiz alone on the hiking trail. 

Luiz was a great hiker and he outpaced John and I on every hike we took.  When we were returning from Half Dome, he decided to hike ahead and meet us at the “T” in the trail.  Well, John and I got there and Luiz was nowhere in sight.  We waited, and then started to get worried as darkness was coming on fast.  We began to call out “LUIZ! LUIZ!” to no avail.  After about a half hour we saw lights coming up the trail from the left, away from our camp sight.  Here, in a group of hikers, was Luiz, who had turned the wrong way at that “T,” and hiked nearly half a mile before he realized he was lost.  Thank God for the other hikers.  I don’t know how I would have explained to Manuela why we called out the Park Rangers to find her husband.

A year ago this month, we made our final journey together.  We returned to Las Vegas and also spent a day hiking in the Valley of Fire State Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.   I will cherish that, and all of the memories we have had with Luiz. forever.

As Luiz and I always said when we raised a glass,

“Viva! Viva Zapata!”    

To Which I add…Viva Luiz!

Fini

Tracy