Come Sail Away

One of my dreams for my future life is to retire to a sail boat, living aboard on the Eastern seaboard, Caribbean and the Gulf Coast. I have never sailed much (only a few times years ago), so it seemed like a good first step to take some lessons.

I met my instructor and a couple who also were taking the course at a small, private marina on the Gulf Coast. It was smallish and cozy, not grand or fancy. We spent about an hour or so on the dock covering terminology as we waited for the sun to evaporate the dew from the deck surfaces of the our training vessel, a Newport 33', similar to the one shown below. Our vessel didn't have a bimini top aft, but did have a dodger forward in the cockpit.

Soon, we were on the water. There wasn't a lot of wind to start, which was probably for the best as we learned about sail configurations and the daunting series of lines that operated them. We had been assigned a book to read, knots to learn and various concepts and terms to memorize. While the theoretical was nice, the practical brought it all together.

We returned to the marina for lunch, and then headed back out. The winds picked up, and soon we really moving the boat around, tacking and jibing with some semblance of skill.

The next day another couple joined us, having been delayed by work. They were friends of the first couple and they are traveling to the BVI and are chartering a 41' catamaran for a week in May. Like myself, they had experience with power boats but not with sailboats.

There was no wind as we puttered about the bay, propelled by the diesel motor. We practiced course plotting and navigation, radio protocol and anchoring. There were a few other pleasure craft about, but most of the traffic in the bay were commercial fishing vessels and large ocean going freighters.

As we stopped for lunch, a pod of dolphins swam by and checked us out, but were soon on their way.

Clouds began to form in the distance, and soon a few ripples of wind appeared on the water's surface. Before long we were able to raise the sails and may way without the aid of the engine. We tacked and jibed our way back, and by the end of the day we were able to make almost 6 knots under sail.

It was time well spent, and did not dissuade me from my dream of one day retiring to a sail boat and living aboard.

Art

I really don't know much about art. I took a class or two in art history in college, and learned a little. I know what I like, and know that I have no skill in any sort of painting, drawing, sculpting, music, etc.

A friend of mine recently gave me two pieces of original art. It is the second piece I have ever received, and both came from friends I have met through the blog. The first was a photographic print, and a poem. I received these from a photographer in Chicago.

The most recent gifts were a painting and a pen and ink drawing. I am grateful for these pieces, truly. I own a book that this gifted man wrote and illustrated. I have read two of his other works online. They are raw. I don't mean unrefined. Perhaps gritty is a more apt description, but then, no. They are raw. Visceral. Evocative. Powerful.

The painting I was given is radically different. It is full of color; softer. Another side of the artist entirely. A side that was hinted at in some of his writing, some of his prints, but it bursts forth in this expression. It is remarkable.

I wanted a piece of his work to own, but never dreamed this is the piece he would chose to share with me. One of my fears is that his light might be lost one day, and with it his work, and then my memories will fade.

I have had a few telephone conversations with him, but many more email and online interactions. Some have been friendly, a few argumentative and even contentious. But that is the nature of human interaction.

To all of the artists out there - thank you.

Southern Literature

At times I have extolled the virtues of living in the South, but one piece of the South that all can sample even from great distances is the literature. Faulkner is a giant, but I also like the imagery that Thomas Wolfe was able to create. So, in an effort to combat the fluffy stuffed animals of Valentine's Day, I offer this passage from Look Homeward, Angel (1929).

"And left alone to sleep within a shuttered room, with the thick
sunlight printed in bars upon the floor, unfathomable loneliness
and sadness crept through him: he saw his life down the solemn
vista of a forest aisle, and he knew he would always be the sad
one: caged in that little round of skull, imprisoned in that
beating and most secret heart, his life must always walk down
lonely passages.  Lost.  He understood that men were forever
strangers to one another, that no one ever comes really to know any
one, that imprisoned in the dark womb of our mother, we come to
life without having seen her face, that we are given to her arms a
stranger, and that, caught in that insoluble prison of being, we
escape it never, no matter what arms may clasp us, what mouth may
kiss us, what heart may warm us.  Never, never, never, never,
never."

I wish Hallmark might print this one a card.

- Jud

I wish I was in the Land of Cotton...

Those are some of the lyrics to the song 'Dixie'. An instrumental version of the tune was the only music played at my father's memorial service. My dad passed away 10 years ago today.

I spoke with him the evening before he died. It was just one of thousands of brief conversations we had, catching up, chatting. He explained he wasn't feeling fell and would be going to the doctor in the morning if he didn't feel better.

I think of my dad often. In my home, their are constant reminders of him: in the living room, book ends he had for years. In the kitchen, some knives and cookbooks. In my bedroom, a gun case, a steamer trunk, and countless books. Pictures on the mantle.

Tonight Little One and I will head to some Mexican restaurant and celebrate his memory. Here's to you, Dad.

Gearing up for the Season of Christmas Parties

So, one of the invites for a holiday reads "Semi-Formal or Christmas Attire". I need some help from the interwebs in determining what this might mean.

Here are some options:

 or

or

For a Friday, it Really Sucked

Fridays are supposed to be good days. The excitement of the pending weekend, the relaxed atmosphere of the office, the relaxed dress code, and perhaps even a longer lunch break. Mine should have been even a little better.

Having concluded a week-long seminar in the Lone Star State, I was headed back to the Deep South. I was at the airport, having made it through security without any hiccups. My boss had asked me to call in to discuss some changes to the plan for 2014, so I gave him a ring.

It was not a great call. That morning a number of staff cuts had been made, including one of my staff. She had been reporting to me officially for a couple of months, but in the HR system was still a direct to my boss. He had called her that morning and broke the news to her. I finished my call with him and called her. She was still in shock and still crying, some 5 hours after she first got the news.

I had nothing new to offer, other than empathy and the promise to do what I could in terms of leveraging my network and assisting her with her resume.

I am hoping that this week will be better. Friday, I expect more out of you, frankly.

Notes from Austin

"I wish I was in Austin 
In the Chili Parlour Bar 
Drinkin' Mad Dog Margaritas 
And not carin' where you are" - Guy Clark, Dublin Blues

Work recently took to me Austin, where I spent some time in classrooms on the UT campus. Sadly, news that it was fall had not quite arrived locally, despite the crush of students wandering the streets and filling the local eateries at the noon hour. It was still hot.

I did visit the joint mentioned in the song, and found that the quality of the food exceeded my expectations. The chili was spicy and beefy, with no beans to be seen and certainly none of the extraneous bits of pasta that some people north of Gawd's country occasionally require in their bastardization of the dish.  I avoided the margaritas, as I have never really developed a taste for them. A Shiner Bock (or several) served as my liquid refreshment. 

I went twice, once with a local who has been a long-time friend and once blogger buddy who has since left this channel of communication. The next trip was with a co-worker, a more sullen and quiet person. Kind of a downer, honestly, and certainly a stark contrast to the bubbly personality of my local friend who is doing her damnedest to "keep Austin weird."

I saw too little of the town for my taste, and it is doubtful that I will be afforded much of an opportunity to see more of it when I return next month  for another week of work.