Boat Stories – Part Two

Maritime disasters all seem to be unique, and each has their own, bizarre sequence of events that led to their untimely demise. The Edmund Fitzgerald was loaded with oar, caught by a storm, and took on too much water; the Titanic sped with over-confidence into the iceberg laden waters of the the North Atlantic, and … Read more

Boat Stories – Part One

My father was a fisherman and thus began his tragic love affair with boats. His first boat was a twelve-foot aluminum purchased at Sears. It had two bench seats, and my Dad customized that with extra benches around the inner rim, his theory being that he could rest equipment and make his fishing more effective. … Read more

Trouble Sleeping

I have a problem sleeping sometimes, usually because I’ve had coffee late in the evening. There is no small irony in that, after a certain point, coffee does nothing to keep me awake. I turn into a zombie, but not a flesh-eating, undead zombie; I’m more of the kind of zombie with a nervous twitch, … Read more

Garage Band

There was a time in the not-so-distant past that the garage was the official man-cave, a domain of dirt, grease, and dangerous tools. Calendars from Rigid Tools adorned the walls, and broken memories from a man’s life lay scattered among the jars of nails and screws on the workbench. Projects begun and abandoned lay hidden … Read more