The Anecdotal Life Part. 23

Sometimes it's a good idea to walk away and do something else. The move from apartment to house began to unravel and me with it. I had a chance on Sunday to get a free lesson on a pretty yacht about the same size as mine. Initially, it seemed like that plan would fall through since the Captain was fretting with recovery from an illness, being behind on all his business affairs, and worse, it looked like his girlfriend was in the process of dumping him. After listening to his woes I admitted I wasn't in such a great place myself and trudged on back to the boat to oil some hinges, clean up a little, unpack ( God bless me) some more, and work up the courage to climb up to the flybridge and start the engines for the first time by myself. And I did it! Without revving the engines too much either! I looked out through the isinglass from my little lofty view across Goose Harbor and the urge to cut loose the lines and take the damn thing out by myself nearly overwhelmed me. It would have been a catastrophe of course, but, oh my. I knew then I would figure it all out someway and spent some time chasing bugs and bug doo off the instrument panel while the engines began to sound a little more used to being run. I was inordinately proud of myself, knew it and didn't care.
The Captain came skipping down the dock having lifted his spirits with beer and crabs with the boys. He waved me on down for a lesson on his boat as though he'd never had an negative thought in his life. Well heck, I was definitely game. He couldn't have chosen a better moment.
I don't remember being that excited, delighted, or transported learning something new. What I have to learn about the intricacies of wind, current, and the obstacles the Chesapeake presents is awesome. In a matter of minutes I was at the helm and inching my way down the narrow channel and down Seneca Creek. Boats were flying all around every which way and made the Giant store parking lot look peaceful. The hardest thing to spot was the markers and buoys. A red nun? A green floating marker? Shoals! Buried wrecks! On and on, and I was supposed to be spotting these things amid waves, passing boats, and tons of sun glare. Yikes! Furthermore, this dude remained very aware as he coached me, not to discomfit his other passengers. One thing seemed really tough and that was learning to pilot the boat using only the rudder action and not the wheel. Or take docking for instance!! There's a neat trick. Sliding what was rapidly becoming an eight-ton monster into that eensy- innsy little slot was obviously a ridiculous undertaking. I did not pretend to try and handed the wheel to him-"real fast".
Heck , who cares? I cannot wait for my next chance to go. I couldn't sit down when I got home and wound up tackling more boxes and the laundry late at nite. Now I know I'll get moved somehow, learn to pilot my own eight-ton monster and I can't express "how good it is".
Copyright: July 24, 2006.

The Anecdotal Life Part: 22

Blogging along here "in Margaritaville"; except I had just one and all the fun involved in that in a place called the Road House. Other family gatherings occurred at the Trick Dog, and the Ice Cream Parlor in what used to be the pharmacy in and around Beulah, Michigan. The Bravo Cafe had to close because a church moved in next door and righteously began demanding Bravo's closure due to their selling of spirits....We were better off with Bravo. A person could get really spiritual there.
The Beulah Librarians and friends have now raised $ 370,000 for the library and have $ 130,000 to go. Amazing!!
I received several strokes of good luck and unwarranted generosity. My son Eric offered me the money to cover the price of a captain to pilot my boat and ourselves, that includes the dough for the gas, on a trip to the Inner Harbor to see the coming Labor Day Fireworks. Whooppeee! One of the main points of the trip will be my learning how to pilot the boat coming and going. Secondly, my nephew, Rick, who runs a fish hatchery for the government farther north in Mancelona, called saying he'd set up a session with a captain of one of his ships to sit down and help me understand radar systems, maps, principles of navigation etc. It was a killer couple of hours and I took in all I could. Regardless, of it being a lesson via paper, I had a much stronger sense of the business when I finished. Having read a lot, I had a zillion questions and he let me interrupt at any and all points. God bless em. Furthermore, two of the captains invited me back for a reality check on the boat itself out on Lake Michigan. Sadly, I had to ask for a raincheck since I was in the "throws" of packing and leaving town. I may try to go back up if they are still willing in September for what would be a great experience.
Further great luck and generosity came flying our way when a good neighbor ,Bill, valiantly offered to help us find the back two markers for our property. Armed with his shovel and some sort of "machete" he hacked his way through bushes, small trees, poison ivy and the concomitant fleet of mosquitos to discover the markers which had been cast (thank heaven) in cement a very long time ago.We were overjoyed to see the depth of property and realized it represented a small bonanza in terms of real estate. Bill needed special commendation for managing this while my sister Peg and I quibbled over each blade and branch. I told Bill he was exceptionally good at beating about the bush. What a vacation! And now to home and the crippling heat and humidity of Annapolis.
Copyright: Part 22.

The Anecdotal Life Part: 21

I have been a bad blogger....but not intentionally. I have been caught up in the labyrinths and rituals of family and the "Fourth", plus caught between two dueling, small town libraries. One library belonging to the Village of Benzonia is at the top of a long hill and the other is down at the bottom of the same hill in the town of Beulah, both way "Up North" here in Michigan. At the onset I thought, "How nuts can you get?" So it seemed until I tried getting a blog written in each one.
The group ensconced in the library at the top of the hill, having seized an historic building from which to operate, apparently seized the attitude and the high ground that went with it. They offered the internet on two machines that log one off in 30 minutes exactly whether anyone is waiting or not. The timer they gave me was faulty and neither registered a change nor an alarm. I became absorbed in my work and my entire blog went down cybernet tubes before my eyes. The attitude of the officious, snippy blonde reluctantly running this service was-- so what and who cares? Well! Obviously, not I any longer.
Contrast that with my perception of the diminutive Beulah library. Always understaffed due to financial straits, it is run by compassionate professionals toiling away in such a laughingly small space that it should be an embarrassment to said community. The librarian said she paced it out once, sans books, and it was approximately 24 by 24. In this active arena they keep four computers going, continually upgrade their book collection, hold story hours in which they host real authors who also illustrate their story as they go, and treat patrons with loving care. I was given thirty minutes on the computer, but never thrown off if I hadn't quite finished, nor given a timer. One noon I stumbled in the door having misunderstood that the place was actually closed. A flustered librarian explained the schedule to me, then changed course abruptly, took pity on me, booted up a computer in a corner and left me in peace as she ran around doing sixty- seven things on her break. There is no comparison between the two places, or at least no kind one. The Beulah librarians are popping their buttons trying to fund a decent space on top of everything else they have to do. I ended up being proud of the "hole in the wall" gang as I began to call them. I couldn't believe all the endeavors they were making on behalf of a community indifferent to their physical environment and financial constraints.
I am sending, as soon as I can, a tax deductible donation to the FRIENDS OF THE BEULAH LIBRARY (definitely a non-profit organization) P.O. Box 469, Beulah, Michigan, 49617....in case you're looking for a good cause.
Copyright: July 6, 2006.