I think I am. I treasure the rolling text conversation I have with my three siblings and their spouses. When my family (all in the Midwest) sends me special greetings, they are often in the form of a texted GIF with some sort of nautical reference. A recent one featured a sailboat, sunset in the background, and something about wishing me smooth sailing in life. I've learned to bite my tongue (or thumb, in this case) and not say, "Well, I usually don't want 'smooth' sailing. I'd rather have spirited." or "There's hardly any wind, he's reefed his main, and the jib is furled. What's up with that guy." In a generic sense, the artwork is typically attractive and the messages are vaguely inspirational and loving. My sister, wanting to get us something for the boat, sent a photo from a store of a plaque with a zen-ish "Go With the Waves." asking if we'd like it. I tried to demur as graciously as possible and we won't be getting it. Bullet dodged. But the fact that she asked tells me I have not succeeded in completely hiding my crankiness.
Confession time is over. Thank you.
Jeff
I have to say that I don't really show my "cranky" side to my non-sailing friends and family but rather suffer in silence about it. Being associated with sailing has, as I'm sure you all are experiencing, tagged you as "the sailor" among your family, friends and business associates. We live in south central PA (near Hershey) and drive two hours to our boat in Annapolis. It might as well be on another planet. People here just don't understand sailing or realize how extensive the Chesapeake Bay truly is because they never go there. My non-sailing friends and family here in PA also have curious ideas about sailing and sailors. We vacation in Florida every year and get the question,
"Are you going there in your sailboat? Or,
"Are you trailing your boat down with you?" (We own a E32-3) Almost every time I go to have my hair cut at the salon that both my wife and I go to (I use to go to the barbershop but that's another story) the "stylist" Tracey who cuts my hair and then charges me a exorbitant amount of money (why I still go is yet another story) always asks me,
"So how's the boat doing?", like it was some sort of living thing. I sometimes get the,
"Well, those things can turn over, can't they?!" Almost every gift I receive has some sort of nautical theme to it. As an example, my birthday is in a few days and here is the card I received from one of my daughters today.
Look carefully and you'll see the stick figure sailboat next to "Happy". There are other examples as well of course. Pillows, beach blankets, inspirational posters, tee shirts, underwear even...all with a sailboat someplace or at least a lighthouse and non of them see the light of day in my closet or have long since gone to Good Will. So, I'm pegged, just like an actor who played a certain character in a TV series for years and now is typed cast for life.
The curious thing is that sometimes when I receive a nautical themed anything the conversation would sometimes come around to me asking if the gift/card giver would like to experience sailing first hand. My purpose here is to maybe give them an idea of what it's really like to be on a sailboat, an experience that most people will never have. My question is often answered with a stuttering, "Well, I don't know! Maybe. I'll have to ask my husband what he thinks." It was if I was asking if I do do a sleep over at their place. Most of the people never take me up on the offer so I've stopped asking. Sometimes someone does say, "Gee I've never been on a sailboat before." In those case I respond with a low key, half-hearted "Well, just let me know when you might want to go." Wow! Maybe I am being a "cranky sailor" and have just realized it!
