Select Page

Hitch Hikers

I have a checklist. Which I check. When we are leaving a dock.

The lines (note, they are lines, not ropes) are untied, one by one. Depending on the current, either bow or stern first, spring (i.e. mid-boat) last.

Captain on the dock. I’m on the boat, catching the lines; laying them down on the deck to loop and hang in the line holders once we get going.

Once away from the dock and moving, I pull in the fenders. Oh yes, the Captain got on, of course. I am totally incapable of handling our boat and no desire to learn. Heaven forbid he’s left standing on the dock.

This particular morning the imp that resides on my left shoulder urged me to pull up the mid-boat fender while we were still at the dock. The bit that had been in the water was alive. Creepy, crawly things that resembled tiny crawfish. Lots of legs, an oval body, a tail that stuck up Uggh.

I caught the bigger ones and flipped them overboard. The small ones met a quick death as I attacked with a piece of paper toweling. It was unpleasant, even gruesome. After cleaning the deck where the slaughter had taken place, I made my way aft and pulled in the remaining fender.

We had now been moving at a fair speed for a few minutes. Apart from the normal marina sludge, nothing. No life. Not a single hitch hiker.

I didn’t need to look for a lesson. If you hang around in muddied waters and dark places, all kinds of critters attach themselves. But move away from these iffy places and they are left behind.

Cyber Hugs and blessings – as always.

 

And for those who wish to sing along…..

Flow River Flow.

Refrain
Flow river flow, flow over me.
O living water, poured out for free;
O living water, flow over me.

Verse 1

You will be mine
and I will be your God,
for I will wash you clean.
And a new heart,
a heart of flesh and feeling,
I will place within you
for your heart of stone.

Refrain

Verse 2

The blind shall see,
the mute shall find a voice,
the lame shall leap for joy.
Rivers will flow
into dry and barren desert,
flowers bloom in splendor,
glory fill the land.

Refrain

Verse 3

Whoever drinks the water I will give
will never thirst again.
The drink I give is an ever-flowing river,
welling up within you to give eternal life.

Get in Contact with Ida