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Goodbye Time
We woke miserable. The sky was cloudy and we prolonged the good-bye by searching for coffee. Everyplace was closed for "BC Day". So we ended up in a hotel restaurant standing in the foyer waiting for our scalding, folgers to go. Finally we were back at the marina. She had to catch a ferry. We hugged. I just wanted this feeling to end. And just like that she was gone. The feeling did end. But it gave way to bittersweet freedom. I was halfway done with my trip and still with no answers. My job and my band are two aspects of my life that are just not working. I thought this time at sea would help bring me closer to a resolution. And all it was doing was bringing more questions. How can I change my life? What can I do to give it more meaning?
Then next three days are a bit of a blur. I had to be in Lund to meet Aldo and Reed by August 10. I could have sailed away from this industrial town and anchored for a few days alone with my thoughts. I worried that I would regret not doing exactly that; but the fact is, I needed a break. If I could have left the boat for a week I would have right there. But instead I walked. And I walked. I walked to the farthest moving theater in town and saw, "A Perfect Storm" then I walked to the Radio Shack and bought some cables for my stereo. Then I walked to the hardware store, then the Internet Caf� and updated my website. Then I walked to a brew pub then to another movie theatre and watched an equally as cheesy but more believable movie about ghosts. Then I walked to get marine gear, to the hardware store just to look around and to the Thai restaurant. I stopped tracking time. The tides didn’t matter. Nor did the weather. I just knew I had to set sail on the morning of the 10th and until then I was able to just be. I walked to the public fishing pier and watched a guy pull a 42-pound salmon out of the water. I walked and I walked until my legs were sore. Finally the evening of the 9th came. I was ready to sail again. Back to Lund for the third time.
