Don't Kick the Bucket

Good morning everyone. Have you ever had one of those days? I had one yesterday. I, literally, kicked the bucket, of deck oil. Thank goodness for Jen and the crew and their quick actions to help spread the oil before it ran away from us. No harm done in the end, except to my fragile ego. I kicked myself from one end of the boat to the other. As I told the crew later, that was some helping of "humble pie." And a lesson in teamwork.

Humbleness... seems like an easy concept but not when you discover it the way I did yesterday. As I reflect upon my own imperfection I am always lured in to that delicate balance (and sometimes trap) between "human being" and "human doing." Humility, for me, seems to come when the "doing" doesn't work out the way I wanted despite the "being's" best intentions.

So today I get back on the horse and ride like the wind "doing" my best as a "being" cause we got a boat to sail in a little more than 2 weeks. Yikes! Let's hope for a little tail wind.

Hope you have a great day. Be well. Do good.

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Hail Mary

My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui

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