Post #585559 by bigbrotiki on Mon, Apr 18, 2011 11:29 PM

Here's a nice e-mail I got from Thor's ex-assistant Donald Ryan. The sense of adventure was different when he was young:

Dear friends and family of Thor:

Nine years ago our friend, Thor Heyerdahl, passed away on April 18th 2002. Yet another year goes by and we can take a moment to remember a unique individual on our planet. This year I am teaching an special class for first-year students at Pacific Lutheran University. The theme is "exploration and discovery" and Thor, of course, is a major topic. One of the books we are reading is "Kon-Tiki" and even though I have read the book many times since I was a young boy, it remains inspirational. Last summer, my own book, "Beneath the Sands of Egypt," was published by HarperCollins. Although much of the book is about my adventures as an archaeologist in Egypt, I included a chapter about my work with Thor, and his profound influence on my life. Here is an excerpt that describes my childhood impressions of Thor and his wonderful Kon-Tiki expedition:

Begin excerpt:

" Every day aboard the raft named “Kon-Tiki” was an adventure. Yesterday, Torstein found a strange unknown fish which hopped from the ocean onto his sleeping bag and we were still talking about the whale shark that passed below the raft last week, a terrifying, yet utterly fascinating, creature whose power and mass rivaled that of even our hefty collection of floating logs. Our friend from Peru, a parrot named Lorita, provided constant amusement as did the sprays of flying fish that would spontaneously erupt from the sea, a couple even landing in the expedition frying pan. Thor emerged from the cabin and glanced at the sky. A few seagulls flying above caused a smile to break across his face. “Land is near, young man!” he confidently assured me. As the youngest member of the Kon-Tiki expedition, Thor made sure I was comfortable, informed and busy. “Climb the mast and give us a report”, he encouraged as he took over my position at the oar. I gingerly climbed up toward the crossbar and blocked the sun with my hand over my eyes. Scanning the horizon, I caught a glimpse of something curious: a thin line of green that broke the monotony of the seemingly endless sea. “Land ahead, Thor!” I yelled exuberantly, "Land Ho!” Terra firma at last and more importantly, a successful test of a radical idea.

            “Donald!” called the female voice from nowhere.  “Donald!  Time for dinner!”  At that moment, the illusion was shattered and the Kon-Tiki  yet again reverted to a pile of crudely assembled lumber perched on a Southern California hillside, the ocean transforming into a sea of long green grass.  Thor and the crew all vanished as the sun began to set behind the avocado groves as I answered my mother’s call to return to the house.  It was a great voyage that would resume the next day and the day after it.  It all started with a little paperback book placed in a child’s Christmas stocking: a paperback called “Kon-Tiki” selected by a Santa who resembled my father, a man who knew the sea having served as an officer on a battleship and captained his own sailboat.  Why that book I can never answer; he had no doubt read it himself and thought it would be a fine treat for his bookish son.  He was right.  Thor Heyerdahl and his Kon-Tiki  lit in me the fire of adventure that has never been put out."  

End of excerpt.

Those of us who knew Thor well quickly learned that he viewed every day as an exciting new adventure to be lived with a sense of joy, compassion and wonder. As before, let us raise a toast to our fine friend: "To a life well-lived!," and may he serve as a continued inspiration for many years to come!