August 2005

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Work at a bit of a standstill on the new dinghy lately. i dan’t want to get too much set up, what with all the weather and associated nastiness always lurking just o’er the horizon.
Been out sailing as much as i can handle in the Dink still. Yesterday afternoon saw a glorious sail; running under the spinnaker west past Little Thatch, dropping the chute in the lee, and reaching waaaay over to the St. John shore (okay, it’s not that far, but far enough for a 7’dinghy!). Tacking in the lee of a small headland there, then one more long tack back into the cut and West End. Of course, the usual parade of tacks back up the harbour and home. A little sloppy out there in the straight; 4+ foot breaking waves look so much more threatening in such a tiny open craft! The new boat, of course, has a better bow shape for such things, as well as a proper foredeck; i shan’t feel so exposed then.
By way of avoiding the craziness in Carrot Bay, i’ve bailed out back to West End for a week, crashing on Centaurea. She’s a neat little boat, a 1965 Laurin Koster 32, one i’ve had my eyes on for some time. Sleeping aboard these last few nights has felt good; i’m falling in love! The boat has been on the hard for 6 or 7 years now, and the owner has now been awol for a little over 2; we’re just starting the lein process now, and for the cost of the outstanding storage, she may be mine yet!

Got a letter from Jane today. Jane really rocks.

There’s these US Coast Guard ads running on local radio; these short audio vignettes of Coasties in action, with voiceovers from both some parochial voice and declarations of role from (apparently) young serving Coasties themselves.
Example: (audio track of helicopters and waves, “We’ve got, you, ma’am”, etc.) Young voice: “We are the rescuers!”; (audio of clanging bootsteps, radio static, “Looks like 80 kilos, sir”), voice: “We’re keeping the streets clean!”, (audio of more bootsteps and generalized firearms-readying, “Sector 8 is clear!”), voice: “We are the first line of homeland defence!”, Parochial bit: “The US Coast Guard: On the frontlines to protect our American way of life.”
Now, whoa there. Being a mariner, i have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the branches of the USCG who man and service Lights & Aids, who perform Search & Rescue, and who regulate and administer marine traffic and safety. But this paramilitary “On the frontlines” BS? Gimme a break.
So, everyone knows by now that the USCG is a branch of Homeland Security, which to me sounds like the emphasis has shifted from those traditional and honourable roles to all this drug-sniffing, terrorist-busting, self-fulfilling “threatened security” fantasy. Hell i always thought that the American Way Of Life (AWOL?) was all about drugs, violence, and hedonism anyways. Yeah, i know the dream is supposed to read something like, “Here is the land of opportunity for the average guy to work hard and realize all his dreams”, but in modern parlance it sounds more like, “Here is the land of opportunity for the rich to get richer and blow it all on gluttonous excess”. More recently, it’s starting to sound like, “Here is the land of homogenization and Federal ID systems, where the best bet for the average guy to get steady work is with some contracted paramilitary security firm”.
Every time i hear some voice calmly invoking the thrall of “homeland”, i’m immediately reminded of another land, a “fatherland” in the central Europe of the 1930’s.

sudden flash in de ol’ brainpan:
Anyone who knows me halfways well knows that i have this penchant for explaining things and thoughts through analogy. All aspie-like, this is probably ’cause i’ve subconciously learned that an analogy is more contextual than my simply babbling. It also suddenly dawns on me that perhaps i do this because that’s about the only way i can manage to explain things to myself. What’s this? Um, yeah… i don’t understand some things, unless i can manage to explain them to myself in terms and context that i can comprehend. Well, it makes sense to me, anyways…

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