Joyce Sherwin parasails for 94th birthday
Joyce Sherwin (right) and son Laird, sailing. (Courtesy photo)
DOWNEY – Joyce Sherwin, the Energizer Bunny who keeps going and going, did it again. In June she parasailed in Newport Harbor to celebrate her 94th birthday.
Along with eight family members, Joyce enjoyed what she called “a nice floppy leisurely parasail.” How many nonagenarians do that?
“The day was glorious,” said Joyce. “No June gloom even in early morning. Our motorboat pulled us for ten-minute sails and the views of Long Beach and open ocean are outstanding.”
“We sailed with California Parasail,” said Joyce, “at Newport Beach/Balboa Fun Zone, with an outstanding crew – a pilot with unfailing attentiveness to water traffic and winds, and a harnesser and people wrangler.”
“We were nine,” said Joyce. “My grandson Colin Sales with girlfriend Ev; granddaughter Caitlin Sales with boyfriend Zachary; daughter Linden Waddell, her daughter Eden Tzanetopoulos and my niece Melanie Sanders, and my son Laird Waddell and me. Melanie lives in Costa Mesa; Colin and Ev live in Anaheim, Caitlin and Zachary are in Berkeley, Eden in Seattle where she is working on her doctoral degree in Chemistry. My only disappointment, daughter Pinky Sales was down with Covid.”
Joyce has lived in Downey for over 50 years and can normally be seen, with her feet on the ground, in the lobby of the Downey Theatre when the Downey Symphony Orchestra performs there. Several years ago Joyce won the bid for the conductor’s baton and conducted “Seventy-six Trombones” from The Music Man, written by land-locked Mason City, Iowa native Meredith Wilson. That’s Joyce’s hometown too.
What makes a nice girl from Iowa to take to the air like this? “It is quiet,” says Joyce, “the eyes love the spaciousness of the sea viewed so close, and it is so joyous.”
“When not airborne,” said Joyce, “we were kept busy on the boat sidling up for the next sailing pair, taking off our shoes, getting all harnessed in safely, cheering on each other’s lift-off and return. This was my eighth time parasailing, and this time I did get my feet wet - my request. They brought us low enough for me to hover and dip my toes. Then we touched down safe and dry in the boat.”
“On returning to land,” said Joyce, “we sauntered along the walkway between harbor and shops and finally settled on pizza in the open air for all.”
“A perfect birthday party, and our eyes are set on same time, next year!”