A “Nauti-cal” Adventure! 

Last year, Alford Media organized to help put together a trip of a lifetime for our colleague Benji Palmer and his son Graham. We wanted to follow up on their adventure on the high seas. 

AM: When Alford Media contacted you and said they wanted to do something nice for Graham, how did that make you feel?

Benji: Overwhelmed, undeserving, surprised, humbled, confused…. For the last twenty-plus years, Deann, Graham, and I have just put our heads down and plowed forward in our little bubble. Trying to teach Graham the importance of no handouts, no unnecessary help, and it’s always OK to fail alone before succeeding with help, the thought of such a project that put him solely in the spotlight was different for us. My response to Melanie when she talked to me about it can be categorized as an “ungraceful acceptance.” lol

AM: When Graham chose a cruise with his dad (you), what were your thoughts, and why did he want to go on a cruise?

Benji: Graham had missed me on the trip they took for his graduation two years earlier. He likes to be challenged and put in stressful situations, and I am usually his tour guide for such things. I got him out of his comfort zone and expanded his social understanding and calmness level around large groups of people.

AM: After our record-breaking funds were raised to send you and Graham on your trip, what were your thoughts when we had enough to send your entire family?

Benji: I felt undeserving, to be honest. There are so many other kids out there that could be helped, and it’s still hard, to this day and always will be, to wrap my head around the fact that people cared enough and were generous enough to give to my little family. You made my kids feel loved and proud. Thank you for that.

AM: What was the best part about the cruise?

Benji: The best part of the cruise was the one-on-one time I could spend with my son. Describing things to him, feel, smell, sound…. Taking the time to explain things and laugh at nature’s movements and the people maneuvering within it. He will never know what the sun is, what a waterslide looks like, what his sister and brother, mom and dad, hell, a human in general looks like. One day, he will lose his ability to hear as well, living the rest of his life in darkness and silence. We don’t know how much time we have left, so having the chance to go now and experience this will give him more memories for his eternal play that will play over and over in his head for the rest of his life. We search for those moments every day for him. Thank you for allowing him to live, grow, and experience. I will never be able to repay the debt.