Holiday Musings

I'm sitting here eating an avocado, smoked turkey and pastrami on whole wheat sandwich and listening to Christmas carols on our local classical station. In between bites I'm devouring the latest issue of Good Old Boat and an article by Bob Perry on the origins of the CCA effects on boat design. Not dry at all! The presents are wrapped, the Christmas dinner ingredients are stocked away. My wife is still working at the Hospital and my clients are all quiet and happy for a change. I was born a Jew but raised in the Quaker faith. As you might imagine, this time of year brings up conflicts in feelings. Evergreen Tree or Menorah? Respect for either side of the family brings small regrets. My dad is gone so the choice is less of an issue now. My wife's sister lost her battle with cancer a year ago this week so Herself is a wee bit bluesy too. My dear sons are scattered to the four winds and the best we can hope for Sunday is a game or two of baseball on the X-Box 360 over the inter-web. Good but not the same as hugging those handsome grandsons and their dad. But...I will start packing up to head to our beloved 34 Mk-lll for tonight and tomorrow. We'll turn on the gas fireplace, make some mugs of cocoa and brandy and read to each other again. We're working through Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie" now and it brings on wanderlust. We'll see our dock-mates and go out for a short sail tomorrow, wind permitting. My boat is my comfort. It means a lot to have a constant in the shape of someplace to go and belong anytime I need it. I need it this weekend. Happy Christmas and Merry Hanukkah to all here! Danny

Shalom Danny....its amazing how much a sense of place is important and how a beautiful creation such as a simple sailboat combined with the company of friends can totally satiate that need. Enjoy. Happy Holidays /ch On Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 4:27 PM, Danny <sa… [at] gmail.com> wrote: > > But...I will start packing up to head to our beloved 34 Mk-lll for tonight and tomorrow. We'll turn on the gas fireplace, make some mugs of cocoa and brandy and read to each other again. We're working through Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie" now and it brings on wanderlust. We'll see our dock-mates and go out for a short sail tomorrow, wind permitting. My boat is my comfort. It means a lot to have a constant in the shape of someplace to go and belong anytime I need it. I need it this weekend. > > Happy Christmas and Merry Hanukkah to all here! > > Danny > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > -- /ch

happy good time of year from a fellow 334 sailor Dave Paulson Allergia Channel Islands Ca ----- Original Message ----- From: Danny To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 1:27 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Holiday Musings I'm sitting here eating an avocado, smoked turkey and pastrami on whole wheat sandwich and listening to Christmas carols on our local classical station. In between bites I'm devouring the latest issue of Good Old Boat and an article by Bob Perry on the origins of the CCA effects on boat design. Not dry at all! The presents are wrapped, the Christmas dinner ingredients are stocked away. My wife is still working at the Hospital and my clients are all quiet and happy for a change. I was born a Jew but raised in the Quaker faith. As you might imagine, this time of year brings up conflicts in feelings. Evergreen Tree or Menorah? Respect for either side of the family brings small regrets. My dad is gone so the choice is less of an issue now. My wife's sister lost her battle with cancer a year ago this week so Herself is a wee bit bluesy too. My dear sons are scattered to the four winds and the best we can hope for Sunday is a game or two of baseball on the X-Box 360 over the inter-web. Good but not the same as hugging those handsome grandsons and their dad. But...I will start packing up to head to our beloved 34 Mk-lll for tonight and tomorrow. We'll turn on the gas fireplace, make some mugs of cocoa and brandy and read to each other again. We're working through Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie" now and it brings on wanderlust. We'll see our dock-mates and go out for a short sail tomorrow, wind permitting. My boat is my comfort. It means a lot to have a constant in the shape of someplace to go and belong anytime I need it. I need it this weekend. Happy Christmas and Merry Hanukkah to all here! Danny

On 12/23/2011 4:27 PM, Danny wrote: > > I'm sitting here eating an avocado, smoked turkey and pastrami on > whole wheat sandwich and listening to Christmas carols on our local > classical station. In between bites I'm devouring the latest issue of > Good Old Boat and an article by Bob Perry on the origins of the CCA > effects on boat design. Not dry at all! The presents are wrapped, the > Christmas dinner ingredients are stocked away. My wife is still > working at the Hospital and my clients are all quiet and happy for a > change. > > I was born a Jew but raised in the Quaker faith. As you might imagine, > this time of year brings up conflicts in feelings. Evergreen Tree or > Menorah? Respect for either side of the family brings small regrets. > My dad is gone so the choice is less of an issue now. My wife's sister > lost her battle with cancer a year ago this week so Herself is a wee > bit bluesy too. My dear sons are scattered to the four winds and the > best we can hope for Sunday is a game or two of baseball on the X-Box > 360 over the inter-web. Good but not the same as hugging those > handsome grandsons and their dad. > > But...I will start packing up to head to our beloved 34 Mk-lll for > tonight and tomorrow. We'll turn on the gas fireplace, make some mugs > of cocoa and brandy and read to each other again. We're working > through Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie" now and it brings on > wanderlust. We'll see our dock-mates and go out for a short sail > tomorrow, wind permitting. My boat is my comfort. It means a lot to > have a constant in the shape of someplace to go and belong anytime I > need it. I need it this weekend. > > Happy Christmas and Merry Hanukkah to all here! > Well, it's important to remember that many religions had celebrations at this time of year, either to hijack the holidays of earlier religions or just to deal with the short days and long darkness. The harvest was in and everybody relaxed just a bit. For me, it's the season between soft-water sailing and iceboating (maybe, if the weather cooperates). It's the season when we get the Christmas music, which I enjoy, and the bright lights, which I sprinkle everywhere. The hell with good taste, let's brighten the darkness with some cheerful lights. We Americans tend to over-enact our holidays and celebrations. Each one must be perfect and the best ever. Look at how weddings have gone from simple ceremonies, usually in a home, to vast undertakings with planning starting a year in advance. If we lower our expectations a little bit, everything is much better. I send out cards containing the much-maligned holiday letter, and I look forward to receiving letters from my old friends that I don't see enough. It's a way of sharing our lives. Now the days are getting longer, the ground is snowy, and the temperatures are approaching normal (finally). The holidays passed with family visits and gift exchanges and with some time to relax and catch up on chores. I'm back at work today, catching up on obligations and on e-mails of a more pleasant sort. Maybe I'm too easily satisfied. After all, I think my 20-foot boat is the queen of the seas. But one of the keys to happiness is finding satisfaction in our current circumstances, whatever they may be. It's OK to hope for better, but if you can't enjoy the present, life must be as gray as the days. The seasons are going to roll past, whether we like it or not. It's important to enjoy each one for its special characteristics. Chris Campbell