A Paddle to Remember… Crete 2016 – Alzheimer’s Association
A Paddle to Remember… Crete 2016
“In 2014, I did a solo-paddle trip around the southern coast of Crete called A Paddle to Remember, to honor my friend Phil and raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. Now, in 2016, I’m doing it again.” Evanston business owner Bob Danon is raising money and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease as he kayaks for a caus
One Man’s Journey To Raise Awareness And Funds For The Alzheimer’s Association
Bob Danon – Background
I am a lifelong lover of being near, on, in or under the water. I grew up on Chicago’s south side, where I learned to swim at the age of seven at the Hyde Park Y.M.C.A. I also swam Hyde Park High School; I was consistently very good, but never really great. Going away to camp for six summers as a camper and then as a Jr. Counselor was once again about the water- sailing, canoeing and water skiing were added to the list of my H2O activities. As an adult, I took scuba lessons and even became certified, but never followed through with any trips. I was also certified as a lifeguard and a Water Safety Instructor, which played an important part in my life several years later while in the US Navy. During two long and very hot summers at a US Naval Station in Texas (of all places), I was a lifeguard again and a swimming instructor. For the better part of my life I have lived or worked within a few short blocks of “the water” and currently live on Chicago’s far north side, about one and half blocks from Lake Michigan. We’re talking a fair number of years here, since I will turn 72 in early February 2017. And yes, I’m also an Aquarius. Maybe that’s it!
For the past 40 years I have been self-employed as the owner and operator of the Danon Gallery in Evanston, Illinois. I started out in Chicago in 1976 when I bought a small, struggling custom picture framing business in Lincoln Park. I sold it seven years later after getting married. We then we moved to Evergreen, Colorado where I owned another gallery for four years. When I was divorced and got sole custody of my four year old daughter, Kate, we moved back to Chicago to begin anew.
After that, I worked out of our home for nine years as a full-time dad and part-time mom, while doing mostly corporate art and framing. In 1996, I opened a gallery and frame shop in Wilmette and remained there for 14 years. I’ve now been in Evanston for the last six years and plan to be there ‘til I drop. I love what I do, and I can’t imagine not being anywhere else.
In 1995, when I turned 50, I decided I wanted to learn how to sea kayak. I found a group called The Northwest Passage in Wilmette that taught sea kayaking and other related classes. The NWP group changed my life and I am forever grateful for them. They offer so much more than just kayaking, and there are people from all over the world who have been on their amazing trips. The staff at NWP is highly qualified regardless of the program offered. The people there are well trained and offer expertise that are second to none. As I look back on my NWP experiences year after year, many wonderful memories come to mind. Their love and knowledge of what they bring to the table is terribly infectious, and can often bring on the most positive, life-changing experiences.
Why A Paddle To Remember?
In 2002, my paddling adventures with NWP took me to the island of Crete just off the southern coast of Greece on an inn-to-inn sea kayaking trip. It was amazing! Crete is beautiful and I was instantly hooked. I repeated that same trip in 2003 and again in 2006. That 2006 trip was in preparation for my 2007 trip, which was my first charity solo-paddle around parts of Crete to raise money for Pediatric Cancer Research at the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. That effort was to honor an amazing and wonderful 13 year old girl from Wilmette, who had recently passed from a brain tumor. Her name was Kira Arney, and she was the toughest kid I’d ever known. Her short time on this earth was a blessing to many, and she is always in my heart and will never be forgotten.