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Bitter Pills and Salve for the Soul

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Good morning everyone. What does it take to get this captain to slow down? How about hernia surgery? Well it works. Nothing like sitting in pre-op to get you thinking about all sorts of things...friends, family, how beautiful the world is. Now I know a hernia repair is small potatoes in the world of health care. Just the same it is one of those moments that gets your attention. All the pain medications they have given do not take away the feeling of being kicked square in the abdomen by a good size draft horse. Only dreams of being on the bay bring any relief.

God, get me back out on the bay, full sail set and a fair SWly breeze. Can someone take the wheel so I can climb back into the yawl boat hung in its davits and sing a few quiet tunes to the porpoise and the eiders. For lunch, a bowl of fresh lemony ceasar salad chased down with a piece of Mary's chocolate cake that I squirreled away in the ice box last night. How could it get any better? We sail through dinner unable to help ourselves for the warmth and beauty of the day. Sails are furled as the sun sets and the call of the loons in this secluded cove coax the moon up over the mountains of Acadia. Some guests talk quietly on deck while laughter stirs from the main cabin over a feisty game of cards. And I collapse in my bunk for a good nights sleep, secure in the cocoon of the fo'c's'l, smelling the salt air from the incoming tide. All is right with the world the salve of sailing heals my soul.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.
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Unknown said…
Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. I was thinking about the schooner and Camden today as I listened to a story on the radio that took place in Camden, Alabama. Down here Camden is an out of the way country town that is the Wilcox County seat. Just across the Alabama river (actually the impoundment formed by the Corps of Engineers Millers Ferry Lock and Dam) is Gees Bend. Gees Bend is famous for the quilts sewn there which were featured on a series of US Postage stamps. A ferry runs between Camden and Gees Bend. The ferry is operated by Hornblower Marine Services. Somebody, somewhere has read C.S. Forester besides Alabama Al and me. Anyway, all that talk about Camden and boats took me far north to another Camden and a much larger boat.
February 9, 2008 at 1:09 PM
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