| On February 23, 2007, My Ship Came In! And, man,
it was a pleasant surprise!
I have a lady friend who has been part of my work
life, sailing life, personal life, and simply an all
around good human being to know, while sailing through
this place we call Life.
This lady is not my wife, but just a friend who
came into my life and just happened to be a woman,
come on give me a break don’t tell me you all
don’t have at least a couple of them. Then I
was able to bring her into the life my wife and I
have had for the past 36+ years together.
Today is her birthday and the Queen and I are planning
a nice dinner for her and her husband this evening.
As most of us do, I was getting everything “ship
shape,” so that on Saturday, , everything would
be ready for their visit.
When being tied up at a dock any place that I have
been and while trying to get the boat ready for my
guests, there is always that one person who stops
by. If you are wealthy, and by that I mean blessed
with real friends - not just people who call you friend,
but the type you are willing to stop and let the varnish
brush you just ordered and waited to come in, dry
in the varnish pot while returning their hello with
a hug or a smile and then go below to make coffee
or offer them a cold drink. I am never surprised when
this happens and yesterday was no exception…I
had the can of furniture polish in hand, with a Swiffer
duster stuck in my back pocket and the vacuum sitting
where it had been allowed to rest after doing a great
job sucking up dust bunnies, when the phone rang.
The first question was, “Ron, how you doing?”
I knew from the way the question was asked that it
was Stacy, my young friend. We had talked the day
before about some sailing stuff on the phone. We also
had a great day last week traveling around looking
at tools for his workshop and then a trip to the Harley
Davidson Café for a burger. He was calling
to tell me he had picked up the package I had asked
him to get at his convenience the day before and that
he was bringing it to me.
The Package
Now, this is not just a small drive – it’s
like sailing the distance from Key West halfway to
Cuba and then turning around and sailing back to Key
West, so I was excited to see the package. It was
a large box and when he opened it, there she was,
all varnished and ready to play with . It was a RECORD
PLAYER – yep, one that will play the old 45’s
and 33’s. Another neat thing about him bringing
this to me is that I have some “records”
that I think Stacy’s dad may have picked the
“ivories” on before the old man escaped
Music City to sail around the world, Come to think
of ever notice the parents of sailors usually do this
after they marry the kids off ? Just a side note not
accusing any one of any thing Mr. Smith Sir {I would
like to sail on his new boat so I should be polite}!
We plugged it up and here was a young man with a
Blackberry on one hip and a cell phone on the other,
along with me in my half cleaned condo, surrounded
with high end CD players and TV’s all connected
to a sattelite dish , were standing there watching
a little piece of plastic go round and round and play
“When The Saints Go Marching In,” the
original cut of Fats Domino on a vinyl record! What
an odd sight we must have been for the vacuum just
standing there staring at us, while looking over its
bag at one little dust bunnie that had gotten away
and just itching to get at it.
As we stood there we talked about the past and how
simple things were, even though we at the time thought
the world was screwed up, but when it was still ok
not to lock the front door while taking a walk down
to the beach. Now the beach has a little camera on
it just in case some screwed up person decides he
would like to have what we have in our pockets. Never
mind, back to the story… What does this have
to do with sailing - well, read on, please!
While drinking coffee and looking at the book Stacy
brought to me to read, Rob White’s book on making
a tin canoe, there was a knock at the screen door.
We looked up and there stood another “old salt”
with a 14 foot piece of oak he had left over from
a domestic project and one which he thought I could
use. After introducing my two friends, we sat and
“talked sailing,” – mostly he and
Stacy talked while I spent my time just listening.
You see, Stacy’s mother and father have sailed
around the world and Michael spent lots of time in
California sailing to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and
back to southern California. Stacy’s parents
had let from there for the islands years ago - I am
saying that these people could have all been anchored
there together and now they are sitting in my living
room taking me to places I have only dreamed about.
This was a wonderful time! As they left, we made a
“pit stop” to look at my “newly
decorated” shop, which I have made in my storage
closet, with all the wood-working tools I need to
build a boat, if I could build a boat.
Stacy left with some walnut plaques to put some of
his carved boats on along with a single cleat. Michael
left knowing a new person and not having that long
piece of oak strapped on top of his car and I was
left this gathering with a sense of the present and
the past.
I have been spending the past three years getting
ready to DIE and I suddenly realized that I only forgot
one thing? I am a SAILOR - and I don’t care
what the people tell you about having a GPS - YOU
still need to look up and see where you are and sometimes
it helps if you are Capt. Ron because you can just
pull into a dock and ask someone for directions and
they don’t even think your weird, Ok just a
little but who cares?!
This afternoon gave me the gift of my past, my present
and hope for my future. Yes, I could kick the loose
dock board today, fall in the water, hit my head and
drown, but I could also get a phone call that would
allow me to take a trip into the past with a couple
of “old salts” who have been there and
have taken me there in my mind.
I am ready for the next sail, whether it be in a
boat or a trip down to the lake on my electric wheelchair,
but most of all, I am ready for whatever comes. With
God as my anchor, His Spirit as my rode, His Son as
my chain and my wonderful wife as my cleat, I have
nothing to worry about. My craft will hold in the
gail. If I should drag and hit the rocks, I will know
I have done all that I can do to prevent it –
it’s just another day of sailing. And everyone
knows that a bad day sailing always beats a good day
at work! I will just have to recover and adjust my
sails. Or if all else fails, I will have the pleasure
of sitting in “the harbor” and waiting
until my friends all come in.
Do yourself a favor – the next time you are
working on a project - I don’t care how little
time you have in your busy life to drive a couple
of nails or screws or how little day light is left
to apply the last coat of varnish, for God’s
sake, when a friend drops by, just stop and turn you
back on the world and enjoy the visit.
I look forward to many more “old salts”
vsits to the Chateau at Heart Harbor. If you should
find yourself close by, please give me a shout. I’ll
throw some more coffee grounds on the leftover morning’s
grounds, put in some more water and we can sit and
“sail” for a while.
Fair winds with just enough puffs to keep you on
your toes! Think Wind and JOY!
Capt Ron
The Queen and I are at anchor getting ready for
Debbie’s birthday dinner tonight just off Friendship
Island.
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