When Is It Time to Say Goodbye?

By DANIEL WINSTON GATTO | Junior Reporter | 13 Years Old

Usually my articles have a thread of comedy throughout them but today I want to write about something a little more serious … saying goodbye.

Last Saturday started off very cloudy and I thought that it was a pretty lousy day to go on a jet ski in Marina del Rey but Dad said the weather would clear up soon. After we filled out our paperwork we went to get on our jet ski but right before we did my Dad went back to the car and grabbed a mysterious package. I asked him what it was and he said “it was nothing”, so I ignored the package.

Then we got on the jet ski together. While we were driving out to more open waters we talked about life, boats, and pets. When we got out to open water my dad started driving really fast, jumping waves, doing loopty loops and donuts. It was really fun and scary.

Then we stopped for a moment. I asked why and my dad took out the package. I asked what was inside and he said, “It was our dog Elvis’s ashes.” He told me how Elvis and him used to come to this beach all the time to play and swim, and that this should be his final resting place.

Then we poured the ashes into the water. As the particles dissolved into the ocean, two dolphins appeared 15 feet away as if to say, “it’s okay, we will take care of him” and swam off not to be seen again. After this we jumped some more waves and did a few more donuts and headed back to the dock.

Elvis passed away more than 10 years ago and I don’t really remember him except for photos and videos of us together. But my dad tells me he and I were best friends.

I asked why we waited so long to say goodbye. And my dad told me, “There is no right time to say goodbye, until it’s the right time to say goodbye…. and today was that day.”