Florida

By Sailor Keddy -
I had originally planned on taking a train down to Orlando. There was just something that didn't feel right about planes, not on this trip anyway. I didn't much care that it was going to take me 20 something hours to get there by train, either. I'd have time to read and stuff, and just think. But, the way it worked out with my brothers schedule, the train was a poor option and I flew instead.

When I got to the airport, I plopped myself down by the gate and took out The Catcher in the Rye. I had only brought two books with me, that one and Nine Stories, I guess I knew I'd be in a Salinger kind of mood. I've had this same copy since my mother gave it to me when I was like 12. It's pretty beat up and the original cover price was $0.95, to give you an idea of the age. I think she used to teach with it because some places are highlighted and underlined. This book has followed me everywhere: from high school to college to Boston and then to Winchelsea. I've only read it one other time though, around when I was 14. It's one of my favorite books. Anyway, I started reading it at the gate in North Carolina and I didn't even look up from it until I had finished as we touched down in Orlando. Think of it as distracting a baby with a stuffed giraffe while you give him a shot in the arm.

I've been here two days now and it is wonderful. It's so comforting to see my brother, his wife and old friends again, and to know I'll be staying in the state for awhile.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great strength of feets: removing the old diesel

By Sailor Keddy -
Image
After a blissful Christmas at brother's house with his family in Stuart, and my new little nephew, I drove back to Sarasota to start working on getting the engine out from under the cockpit. I got to my sweet Soveraine on Sunday morning and, after getting the lock open, couldn't slide the companionway hatch forward. This had never happened before. No amount of pushing could get it over the drop slides, it was as if they had swelled for some reason. I took out my sawzall and cut a tiny bit away from the top drop slide and it slid open. I was dumbfounded. The entire cabin was submerged in four inches of standing water. Nearest I can tell, during the fall the oak tree, that the jackass trailer park owner let the jackass of a hauler park my boat under, had shed all its tiny goddamn leaves which clogged my cockpit drains causing water to spill into the cabin. Luckily my dad was there to keep my spirits high and attitude in check, because I was in a throw in the towel, no good, d...
Read more

The voyage that changed it all, Part III

By Sailor Keddy -
Since this will be the third and final part of this series, and although I could go on for just about ever about this trip, I should mention why this is "the voyage that changed it all." Before I got that fateful Facebook message, I was struggling hard with the job I have, my passion for sailing and all that is associated with the Ocean, and trying to connect it all together in a way I could put food in my mouth. The people I met opened my eyes to a field of work that was exactly was I was looking for. I had to leave the When and If  abruptly due to her being stuck in Charleston for what looked to be over 10 days. The weather around Cape Hatteras was less than favorable. I flew back to Boston, with a weepy eye and thoughts in my head that I would not return to her, and the wonderful people I had met, ever again. A week past, and during this time I applied to nearly half a dozen jobs within the realm of getting me on a boat. From the lowliest bilge rat position on a moto...
Read more

Goodbye Boston: A Sailor's Proclamation

By Sailor Keddy -
"The decision to flee came suddenly. Or maybe not. Maybe I'd planned it all along -- subconsciously waiting for the right moment." Hunter S. Thompson I am leaving Boston. There is a laundry list of reasons why, but it boils down to an essential few. This is my third winter up here, and to be honest I've had about enough. The cold is oppressive; it latches onto your soul, sucks your vital will to live and leaves you breathless and desperate. It inhibits activity on both a mental and physical level. I've tried to get used to it, but the thoughts of what I could be doing if it were 30 degrees warmer have overcome me. My career, more than likely, will be put on hold. Had I known that I would be spending 8 plus hours per day staring at a computer monitor in the middle of a cube farm, while the world, my youth and my life pass me by, I would never have signed up in the first place. I have been with the same company for three years, since I graduated college, and I hav...
Read more