Sailing and Seamanship

These are some of the books on sailing and seamanship in the third floor office at Pineapple Hill. There’s many more in The Board Room beneath the house. I like to having them near when I’m jonesing for some water time. It’s a “In Case of Emergency, Break Glass” sort of thing. That’s Crystal (aka Marianne in Blue Ruuber Pool) on my Newport MKIII.

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.