Newport 30 MKIII

This is a Newport 30 MKIII. Not too big. Not too small. I could sail it myself, cruise with a friend, or bring a couples out for a day sail. The brochure said it slept six. Ha! Boat brochures LIE! Just because a dining area can be made into double bed doesn’t mean it should be.

Newport 30

Bad things happened, an entire run of them that shut me down, caused me to withdraw from everything except my inner self.

One afternoon, in a hammock, I took a photo of myself. Just my legs. But there was no one to send it to. No one to understand.

I needed a sidekick so I sketched an armadillo because they’re crusty on the outside but not within. I made him my butler. Crusoe’s manservant Friday.

We began interacting—my hammock photo speaking to that critter, that critter speaking back.There’s a folder of cartoons somewhere. For now there’s just this one. (LINK)

Eventually after that I began writing novels.

I’m still a hermit, marooned you might say, but leaving my shell more and more—my inner self seeking its freedom through writing.