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Spreading Good Manure

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Good morning everyone. I have typed those words 231 times in the past year. Can you believe it? I can't. How could one person write so much in a years time and yet not really have any point, except maybe to share a little insight into what it means for this family to be absorbed by a business of doing something a little out of the ordinary, sailing a windjammer. For any of you that have had the courage or stomach to read more than just a few of these blogs you know that this blog has been about a whole lot more than just sailing. For me this has been a year of lessons in learning to appreciate and share this wonderful world that revolves around a humble little schooner here on the Maine coast. And to have folks actually send comments back to us is heartening. But shouldn't you really be doing something better with your time than reading this???

We could never do this sailing vacation thingy ourselves but our biggest thanks goes to the wonderful man who works in the shadows, seldom seeking the limelight but who got this whole thing started. No not Al Gore but our dear friend and web mentor Jim Dugan. There is some great cosmic connection here. Who would a thunk that a guy who 20 years ago was driving a John Deere tractor with a manure spreader for a tailgate around the fields of Pennsylvania would someday encourage this half literate sailor without a soap box (they rightly took it away) to start sharing more manure with the poor unsuspecting souls that happened upon this still obscure blog that has 231 entries about god-knows-what. But as fertile crops from the manure rise so have risen some very fertile thoughts from all who have shared in this blog.

So Jim, thank you for getting us started down this road of rack and ruin. I no longer feel compelled to write every day as I did for the first 90 or so entries. Jim has tried to help me become a better writer and better photographer and in doing so has helped me actually think a little more positively about myself and this crazy Camden windjammer that is such a focal point in our lives. Most importantly what Jim has helped us do is stay connected with the guests that we absolutely can't thank enough for giving us this opportunity. We will keep on writing and sharing to be sure. I wish we had time to do more sharing but with alas time is not one thing even Jim can generate. As always your thoughts will be appreciated. So let's see where we go from here. It can only be good...very,very good. Thank you Jim Dugan.com, for all the many gifts that you have given to us and all our schooner friends.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.
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Comments

Michele B said…
The only thing better that I could be doing with my time would be sailing on the Mary Day. If I can't be aboard the MD, then I will have to console myself with the blog. So keep those entries coming! :)
January 16, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Unknown said…
Alabama Al and I sailed with Jim on our first trip. He was helpful and understanding and he put up with the many questions we had about the schooner and Maine. After we got home we discovered that Jim had posted, on his web site, photos he took on that trip. I downloaded everyone of them and they are part of my cherished memories. In fact, the blog photo of me above was taken by Jim and stolen by me from his web site. As a result of that I am a frequent visitor to Jim's web page and photo blog. Last year I purchased a beautiful photo from him that is hanging on my wall above my desk as I type this. So Jim Dugan and the schooner Mary Day are forever inextricably connected in my mind.

Stress can be relieved in many ways, a few minutes reading the Mary Day blog takes me away from keeping the lights on in Alabama to thinking about blocks, or lignum vitae or the sights and sounds of the cold Maine winter. Not to mention the memories of the great days sailing. It certainly is not a waste of my time to read the blog. It is a much appreciated break from my reality.
January 16, 2008 at 4:35 PM
Sister Cindy said…
Waste of time....my patootie! Reading your blog is like lying back on the deck of the MD, face to the wind, sun on my cheeks, enjoying a moment that takes me away from the routine of this life. Don't get me wrong, I have a great life--but let's face it, it's not a day on the Mary Day! Just hearing about life somewhere else and perhaps walking in your shoes, even for a moment, helps me appreciate the beautiful places in this world, some of which I have had the privelege of experiencing. I think the world would be a better place if we all shared a bit of our lives with each other. Thanks for sharing yours with us! Keep it up!
CB
January 17, 2008 at 1:48 PM
Sister Cindy said…
Waste of time...my patootie! Reading your blog is like lying back on the deck of the Mary Day, face to the wind, sun on my cheeks, enjoying a world very unlike my own. You give us a glimpse of a life somewhere else--and that in and of itself is a bit of a vacation! Thank you for sharing your world with us! Keep it up!
CB
January 17, 2008 at 1:52 PM
AL from Alabama said…
As Ed may remember on that first trip, Jim woke us up at 2:00 or so in the morning to see the Northern Lights. I had asked him to, as he had mentioned he saw them the night before and thought they might reappear again. I will never forget that experience.

Thanks Jim
January 17, 2008 at 6:57 PM
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