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June 11, 2008
No Longer Liveaboard
I took a Bikram Break today. I played hooky. ("There is no widely accepted explanation for the word 'hookey' or 'hooky.' An Americanism that arose in the late 19th century, when compulsory attendance laws became the rule in public schools, 'hooky' may be a compression of the older expression 'hook it,' 'to escape or make off,' formed by dropping the 't' in the phrase. Or it could be related to the old slang word 'hook,' meaning 'to steal,': kids stealing a day off from school. 'Hooky' has so often been associated with going fishing that it may even owe its life to 'getting off the hook' the way a fish can; anyway, school is often insufferable as a hook to schoolchildren and many kids squirming in their seats all day look like they are on a hook." From "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997)
Instead, I ran 9 miles along the Hudson and the biked up to Harlem and back.
On my journey, I stopped at my favourite place along the river at the 79th Street Boat Basin. Out on a mooring was an Amel, a sister-ship of Platina.
Last year, almost exactly this time, Chis and I moved out of our apartment to replace our floors. We took a seedy, dark little apartment on 86th Street, and I biked to the apartment daily to check on progress. The 79th Street Boat Basin was always a stop on the way home.
A year ago, I looked out at the boats on the moorings. I definitely connected with them. Canvas covering the boat to reflect the sun's intense rays (liveaboards are not sun worshipers), wind generators, solar panels, BBQ on the stern rail, topsides a little scuffed up, etc.
Today, I looked out at the boats on the moorings and realized that I admired them, but did not connect to them. I guess that enough time has passed since we lived aboard Platina. I connect more with life in Manhattan than life aboard a boat.
But, I have not lost sight of the dream. We will be back at sea. Someday. In this lifetime, or the next. It is in our blood.
Posted by dave at June 11, 2008 08:12 PM