Summer Dreams
atching the sailboat slowly chug by, my mind
wondered what it would be like to live on a sailboat.
To sail far away to tropical lands. To live in tiny
quarters surrounded by a vast blue world. Softly
rising and then dipping down and rocking side to
side, would I get seasick? Would I be afraid? A storm
at sea could become a threatening situation or
strong winds could throw me off course. Perhaps a
whale twice the size of my boat could knock me and
the boat over.
Along the shoreline I am familiar of the dangers.
I safely stay by lifeguards and surround myself with
other swimmers just in case there is a shark or other
dangerous fish swimming in our area I feel safe that
someone would notice and yell out “danger.” But
living alone in a boat seems very dangerous.
We had a boat when I was a teenager. It was a small
tri-hull with a walk-through windshield. We stayed in
the bay between the channel markers and always felt
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safe. Knowing that most of the bay was only a few
feet deep and surrounded by lots of other boats
we really had no reason to think about the danger
of boating. Thirty five horsepower didn’t move us
very fast and we not very adventurous. We would
just follow the rules. However, we did dream. We
wondered how it would be to sleep under the boat
surrounded by water under a dark sky full of stars.
We wondered what we would find on a secret island
in the middle of nowhere. And we wondered what it
would like to sail in the ocean with no sight of land.
Fifty years later, I still dream the same dream when
ever I see a sailboat. I doubt if I will ever sail around
the world because I am firmly planted on land with my
three dogs! How would I even sail around the ocean
with three dogs? Dreams are wonderful because they
only represent the best part of any situation. Some
dreams are best left as dreams.
-Lisa
W
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