Phil's passing reminds me a lot of the day Dale Earnhardt died. My mother called me, and said she felt like a friend had died, "he was in my living room every weekend". It's the same with Phil, he was in my living room all the time. He was a real man, fishing at 17, and a captain at 31. And Phil bought his half of the Cornelia Marie on his own nickel, too. The definition of the American dream. I've known guys like him, guys who were always pushing, always going somewhere, and usually in a hurry. I think somehow they know that they're not going to be here as long as most of us, and they have to get things done, and get 70 years of living crammed into 50 years.
It's been rough watching it, but Phil told them not to stop filming, no matter what, he wanted everyone to see what was real, and see him as he was, right to the end.
I'm not a fan of Keith at all, I grudgingly respect him. But Phil, Sig, and the Hillstrand brothers are a different story. Their whole philosophy is different than Keith's, all you have to do is look at their turnover rate compared to Keith's. Look at how Sig treats his crew, he took Matt in when it cost them a bunch of money, and he took Jake in when his sister died. Remember Jonathan saving the guy who fell off the other boat? He was watching over that guy, he just knew he'd fall in, and he did. Jonathan had the Time Bandit right there in time to save him, when 4 minutes in the water will kill you. And then how he reacted when they were able to save the guy. He broke down and cried, because he lost the last guy they fished out. I wish Phil had done a book, like Sig and the the Hillstrand brothers did. I have both books, and read them cover to cover the day I got them.
