The Old Days

     I may not be old enough to get nostalgic, but I am a little discouraged this morning. When I was a kid, my dad would take me down to the marina. We would walk along the docks and look at the boats.
     Fishing boats, yachts, live-aboard sailboats, dinghys, you name it. I enjoyed looking at the way everything was packed inside a boat. I liked figuring out what the different parts were for. I imagined the places they had been and where they were going. I loved reading the names of the boats. Some were clever, some were funny, some were "knotty".
     Everyone down on the docks had something in common; an interest in boats. But now there are locked gates and barbwire at the front of the docks.

Not very friendly

     I decided to stroll down to the docks after walking my kids a mile to school the other direction. Three miles in I find, that all the gates are closed. I don't know anyone who owns a boat in the marina, and I am not bold enough to ask a stranger to let me in. What would my excuse be? I like boats.

     Once in a while I find myself down by the docks and they are open. Everyone is neighborly and no one argues with me about being down there. To be honest, if someone spent some time sharing the history of their boat with me, I would probably find myself sanding or varnishing something. That is how thankful I would be.

     So if you see someone gazing wistfully at the marina from the other side of the gate. Ask if they would like a closer look. You'll make an immediate friend.