El Faro

                            

Eternal Father, strong to save,

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea!

Tragedy struck recently when the container ship, El Faro, whose home port was Jacksonville, Florida, was lost at sea in hurricane Joaquin.  As a sailor and captain, my heart goes out to the families of the lost crew.  While sea duty on ships is generally safe, we are reminded on these occasions of the ferociousness of nature.  Also, this weekend marks the running of the annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. I was aboard one of the schooners three years ago for this race, and unfortunately, it was the only year that a crew member was lost in the history of the race. We experienced a huge wind increase on the first evening on board and during the effort to reduce sail, one of the crew members of another ship fell overboard and drowned. 

People wonder why ships are caught out in hurricanes.  It is a common belief that ships are safer out at sea during a storm than caught in port.  Ships can maneuver around a storm, but being stuck in port on a collision course with a hurricane can mean loss of the ship.  Many years ago I took a sailing vacation on a tall ship, the Fantome, sailing around the Bahama islands.  It was a wonderful excursion and cemented my love of sailing.  Years later, this lovely ship was lost along with all its crew and staff in hurricane Mitch. In anticipation of the storm,  Fantome did pull into port and off loaded her passengers, but chose to return to the sea with the idea of outrunning the storm. Unfortunately, the track of the hurricane changed from what was predicted and that beautiful ship and her wonderful crew were lost forever. All that was found was a life ring from the boat. And, initially, that was what was found from El Faro.

There will be an investigation and a lot of speculation as to how the commercial cargo ship ran afoul of the hurricane, at some point there will be an outcome and blame will be laid somewhere. However, the outcome will not bring back those lost lives nor provide comfort to families who lost loved and cherished members and who never got a chance for a last goodbye, a final hug or a last look.

Men and women will always answer the call of the sea. For those with saltwater in their veins, the pull of the ocean is strong. Some will make sailing a career and some will pursue the passion through sport. No matter how one goes out on a vast body of water and what can be a small boat, there is always a chance that they won't return.

I hope there is some comfort to the families that those who were lost were doing something they loved.

Who writes these things?

I'm sure many of you have seen the new Subaru commercial (you can catch it on youtube).  The ad depicts a father cleaning out the family car and putting things he finds in the car into a box. As he finds things in the car, they invoke memories of his daughter starting with a crayon which reminds him of when she was little.

As this goes on and he finds a hospital bracelet, a corsage and other things.  Each item reminds him of a time in his daughter's life.  Now, may of you may watch this commercial and experience an "awwwww" moment, but I am twisted so instead, I have to ask "How many years has it been since anyone cleaned out that car????"

Seriously, there's at least 13 years of junk in the car.  Some of the things appear to be regular things left in the car, shoes, maps, etc. I'm pretty sure that if this car hasn't been cleaned out in years, there's probably an assortment of fast food wrappers, empty plastic drink bottles, receipts of all kind, unopened mail and a variety of petrified french fries. Well, that's what I THINK would be in the car (not that I personally would ever have any of those things in my car).

So the dad, puts everything in the box and then proceeds to put the box in the back of the car as the daughter comes into the picture, now all grown up, and the dad tosses her the car keys and watches her drive away.

I'm sure she was amazingly thrilled to not only receive an old, worn out car that was filthy but that her dad threw all the junk he picked up into the box and gave it to her.

Really, who writes these commercials? Or is it just me who picks up on the weirdness?

Crappy Day Haiku

People are dead who shouldn't be

People aren't dead who should be.

Life sucks

Everything I need to know in life, I learned from detective novels

Early in my formative years, I discovered the detective novel.  I got started reading Nancy Drew, girl detective and the Hardy Boys. Cut my teeth on them and quickly moved up to Raymond Chandler.  I used to go to the library after school every day to read and it was very easy to do so back then as detective novels all carried a miniature symbol of a magnifying glass on their spines.  I basically started at one end of the shelf and worked my way down.  Of course I told my mother I was studying at the library, and in a way I was. I studied the way these hard boiled men handled themselves, wishing I had their self confidence.  I learned a lot from Philip Marlow, Mike Hammer, Travis McGee, Sam Spade and Kinsey Milhone. Here are some of the lessons:

1. People who appear innocent, often are not.  You better check carefully the motives of those around you. People are often not whom they seem to be.  If you're not careful you could wind up being stabbed in the back.

2. The people who appear guilty often are not.  Cases can be built up against the innocent by nefarious characters who are often covering their own tracks.  Be careful whom you trust.

3.  Listen to your gut. Guts are a good indication of something being 'off".  Hard boiled detectives know to go with their gut when confronted with a situation.  If it feels wrong, it probably is.

4.  Take notes and refer to them often when trying to figure out a problem. Often the solution is right in front of you if you just look carefully enough.

5. Keep your wits about you. Don't let anyone get the drop on you. Pay attention to your surroundings and people you are dealing with.  A smart person will always try to stay one step ahead.

6.  Never, but never, go into a dark basement alone.  Or an alley, or abandoned building or old cave.
Never.

7.  Watch your back. Otherwise you could find yourself clunked on the head.

8.  Always maintain your calm. Even when those around you are falling apart, keep your own demeanor intact. Even if you have to slap someone. (Humphrey Bogart was good at this)

9.  Dames and Dudes--often trouble. Fixing other people's problems can be tricky and you are often left holding the bag.

10.  Life on a boat can be really enjoyable--Thanks to Travis McGee!

Easter and the Annual Peeps Contest

That's right folks!  It's time once again for the annual Peeps Contest!  With Easter fast approaching The Washington Post is sponsoring its' annual contest asking entrants to provide a diorama featuring the popular and dare I say it? delicious marshmallow Peeps.  I am always amazed by what people come up with for these contests and this year was no exception.

I particularly love the one above with the cast of the Muppet Show although it was not the winner of last year's contest. I'm sure the entries for this year's contest will be just as creative. I would love to enter, but am just to lazy to put one together, although I am tempted to create a "Scandal" themed one featuring, of course, Olivia Peep.

I can remember getting Peeps in my Easter basket and that was back when they only came in one color and shape.  Yellow and shaped like little chicks.  Ah, yes! Those wonderful peeps who managed to get stuck to all the plastic grass in the basket rendering them pretty much inedible. Still we managed to peel the grass off and shove them in our mouths.  What better breakfast than sugar covered marshmallow and chocolate bunnies?

Evidently, Peeps are made of stuff that lasts forever.  Hmmmm, makes you wonder about eating them though.

You know you are a grandparent when......

You cut your finger while visiting and the only band aids in the house are Sponge Bob, and you not only know who Sponge Bob is, but that his best friend is Patrick!

You'd rather read bedtime stories to the little one(s) than watch the news.


Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches seem like a pretty good treat----for you!

You have memorized the channel numbers for Nickelodeon, Disney and the Cartoon network.


Your daily workout includes pushing a fairly heavy child on a swing-over and over    again

You can't remember where you put your glasses, car keys, wallet and other things but can
 remember all the childhood songs you sang as a kid

You actually like all the Pixar movies (hey, they are really good) and insist your grandkids watch them with you so you don't feel like a complete dork

You wish you had your own minions (too cute!)

 You can't imagine life without grandkids!!