If you’re one of the millions of fans of CBS-TV’s number one drama, “NCIS,” especially the way my wife Chelsea is, you already know what this title means. For those of you who’ve not watched the show much, let me explain what this title means: it’s love. It’s all about love.
America has embraced “NCIS” as a go-to show for 13 seasons primarily due to the quirky but charming personality of Mark Harmon’s portrayal of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I prefer to think of him as UCLA’s star quarterback, son of Heisman trophy-winning Tom Harmon, but Chelsea and I were talking about caskets, hence today’s column.
Remember that Gibbs’ first boss as a special agent was Mike Franks (played by Muse Watson) and how Gibbs is always building something in his basement when he’s not fighting crime. In season 8, Gibbs’ carpentry skills culminated in the most resplendent woodworking for fellow Marine Mike Franks.
Audiences saw the revelation that Gibbs had been lovingly hand-carving his boss’s final resting casket as “that project” in his basement. Not only that, but he was one of the pallbearers carrying the casket as Franks was laid to rest with full military honors. The handmade Marine logo was atop the casket and beautifully painted handiwork decorated the sides of the casket.
At Callaway-Jones, we’re here to help you select the most important elements of your loved one’s burial or cremation. We know every detail about the caskets we offer you, because I’ve traveled the country and inspected the details of manufacturers to select the best. It’s my job to offer you a reasonably affordable but most elegant final resting place.
And whether it’s a steel casket or a custom-built wooden casket, or the proverbial pine box—it’s your choice, and it’s my privilege to consult with you without pressure. Like Gibbs, we go “with the grain,” and not against it. Semper Fi.
Speaking of “NCIS” and caskets, the basic premise of the show is solving crimes committed by those who took the lives of Marines and Naval service personnel, hence the agency name, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Here’s a link to the NCIS’ team’s farewell to Mike Franks, which showcases the casket that Gibbs made for him (courtesy of YouTube user MacPhoenix82)
Over the years, “NCIS” has had several episodes in which caskets, cemeteries, and final farewells are an important visual focus. In Season 12 of “NCIS,” audiences saw the casket of Special Agent Ned Dornegut (Matt Jones) being carried off a plane as the entire NCIS team stands in waiting to see it transported. The solemnity of the occasion was truly authentic.
Previously, we saw Special Agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) accompanying her father’s casket, Eli David (Head of Israel’s Mossad, played by Michael Nouri) home for burial.
And it was Ziva who also promised a dying Marine that she would deliver a final message from him to his parents. There’s no more poignant scene that Ziva being with the young Marine as he had just been wounded and had only precious minutes left. The soldier had been fatally wounded saving their lives when the NCIS team was on yet another mission. The next scene was her standing straight and transfixed, as the casket carrying the young soldier came off the plane with his parents and the NCIS team to witness and a Marine unit customarily present to attend.
Being with loved ones in their final minutes and at the special tribute services of remembrances and sharing their legacies with friends and family are often the most critical and important times of our lives. Callaway-Jones is honored when you select us to be with you for those rituals and at the most important times when you call us.
In another “NCIS” episode, Special Agent Gibbs is charged with assuring that the exact remains of a Marine are returned to his family in time for them to be scattered. That’s another subtle, but critically important, distinction of Callaway-Jones being your choice for cremation specialist in the Brazos Valley for over five decades now. Your loved one never leaves our care, which assures you peace of mind. Our family is proud to be the only local funeral center with two cremation facilities—and we make available to you our beautiful Magnolia Suite for any private service you wish to have.
As he returns the urn filled with the (correct) ashes [a point made very specifically during the episode], to the widow, Gibbs’ final remarks to her resonate with everyone who’s had sailing experience. He says to her, almost reverently: “Fair Winds and Following Seas.”
What does that expression mean to you and where did it come from? I looked it up, and the best explanation I could find is that it has become popular as a combined expression of two terms. If you know of another, please let me know.
From 1851, in “Moby Dick” we read about “fair winds”: “Let me square the yards, while we may, old man, and make a fair wind of it homeward.”
From the same source, “Bowditch’s American Practical Navigator” the term “Following Seas” is described as “a sea in which the waves move in the general direction of the heading.”
Squaring the yards, making final plans. That’s why we have our signature Callaway-Jones Advance Planning Program, so we can work together to help you, while we may. Put together, the phrase “Fair winds and following seas” essentially means “Smooth sailing,” right? In life, isn’t that what we all wish for?
And when we can sail and follow no longer, then it’s time to think of caskets, or urns, and the most meaningful of all tributes that you can offer to those who ask you to remember them for generations to come.
Cody D. Jones ‘02
Owner and Community Member
