The Captain and The Kid are still on Marathon. It seems Marathon is becoming more of a verb than a noun as we hang out here waiting on the weather.

FFL from somewhere in town has not come back to the laundry yet with his kids. But since the rain, other characters are popping up with more frequency. The Captain and The Kid rowed in to check out the book exchange at the Marina. Books are escapes. The book exchange has served boaters and sailors for years at the City Marina. It is an honor system. Take some, leave some. We picked a few titles of interest and dropped off a few we thought would be good escapes for others. A couple of cruiser types were talking about where they were going to clear customs in the Bahamas so we sat in on the discussion to getaway for a few minutes.

The Marina is a good marina. Sailors gather to talk, share vital information, weather reports, recipes, and drink. The laundry is OK. Not the greatest, but not so bad like some places. There are computers, books, some stuff to snack on, and it has carts to use if you're walking to get supplies to bring back to your vessel.

Mr. Carter is known for her use of the carts. She does not live aboard, but she does push a cart around. Yes, Mr. Carter is a she. The Captain, on occasion, will ask third party people to gather first party information, but not on Mr.Carter. I approached her as she was checking the wheels on carts.

"Wheels OK?" I started with a pleasantry.

"Mr. Carter says wheels move the world. Wheels fall off and Mr. Carter says, the world stops moving."

"There is wisdom in that observation."

"Mr. Carter says that wisdom comes from observation and application of information."

"Does Mr. Carter live aboard a boat out there?"

"Mr. Carter has sailed everywhere there is to sail and few places besides."

The Captain could see a very thin, and very worn wedding band around the woman's ring finger. It was becoming clear that she was not responding with her own thoughts, but rather she was quoting a Mr. Carter. It was not clear if she was Mrs. Carter or not, and it did not seem to be The Captain's business to ask. We talked for a few more minutes about the carts and living in Marathon. Each response she gave was prefaced by, "Mr. Carter...". This woman was not to be pitied. She was doing what she enjoyed. She seemed content and happy.

You can put your feelings to others and determine for them if they are happy or not, but then that will be but your point of view and not necessarily the truth about it. She seemed happy. She was OK with where she is. I learned from others that she had a usual routine that made up her day. It began with checking the wheels on the carts. Next, she would push a cart along the highway. Sometimes she would push it to the grocery store, and other times she would push it along the highway, picking up trash. When she returned the cart, she would throw trash away, but if she had purchased some food, she would take some inside the Marina and hand out a few items to people who were sitting, having discussion about their getaways. As she left the Marina, she carried her few things with her leaving the cart behind. Mr. Carter is someone who has escaped. Her getaway seemed that it was one of desperation, but then The Kid reminded The Captain that most escapes to getaway are desperate measures to find some relief from the stress of the things of life. If you can escape for a brief time or if you can stay longer what does it matter when the bottom line is that you have gotten away.

Bag Man did not always come into the Marina. Often he would sit alongside the building on the outside. He would report on sales he knew about at the nearby stores. If bread was discounted,he knew about it. If there were any 2 for 1 offers he would relate what they were and how much you could get them for, and his regular report always included the best beer buys. The Captain and The Kid put Bag Man to the test. We noted what he advertised as the best specials and headed to the store. Each item we had jotted down from Bag Man was just as he had reported it.

Bag Man did not offer this service for free. If you took his advice he insisted that when you checked out you insisted on the bagger triple bagging you goods. Why triple bag? Since you are on a boat double bagging always makes good sense. Better for carrying, extra lining to keep dry as you go back out into the harbor, and added trash bags that tie shut in case you have to carry garbage for a while when out to sea. So, why the triple bag. That is Bag Man's pay for services. He takes one bag. Bag Man lives aboard. He keeps everything he owns, EVERYTHING, in bags. The Kid asked why he keeps everything from his clothes, to his food items, to reading material in bags. His response was because it fits.

Just as we were getting ready to head back to our sloop, two kids rushed into the laundry. They stared twisting all the knobs on the dryers and one of them tried to climb into a dryer. Could it be? The Kid pointed to the entrance. In came FFL.

The Captain and The Kid

The Captain and The Kid