Adventures On The High Sea

Update:  Pictures included.

I write this from the library of the Veendam as we cruise off the coast of Mexico, heading toward Puerto Vallarta.  There are photos that go with this post, but the wireless on the ship is way too slow to load pictures.  There are a few clouds in the sky, but the sun is shining.  I am enjoying it even more knowing that Oregon is buried in snow!

We left home last Wednesday at 4:15 am and it was 13 degrees.   By the time it started to snow in Hermiston, we were safely basking in the sun in San Diego.

On Friday my brother, Leigh, had arranged for us to go sailing with his friend Lou, who has a 38-foot sailboat.  It had rained overnight in San Diego, but we left Oceanside Marina in sunshine with a light breeze.  We were ready for a day of whale watching.  We saw lots of pelicans and a seal or two, but no whales.  About a mile offshore the spouse spotted something floating on the water.  What was it?  After determining that it wasn’t a bird or a seal, and definitely not a whale, we cruised past it and saw it was a black plastic package wrapped in twine. 

“Marijuana,” Leigh said,  “I bet it’s pot.” 

Lou turned the boat around and we circled the package.  Someone said, “Let’s go get it.”  We were all excited to find out what was in the package.  Then I remembered that Dexter disposed of all his victims in the ocean.  “I hope it’s not body parts,” I said. 

Lou maneuvered the boat alongside the package and the spouse and Leigh used a grappling hook to pull the bundle alongside the boat.   It was too heavy for them to pull out of the water, but in the process of hooking the package they had torn a small hole and they could see and smell the bricks of marijuana.  They used the winch to pull the bundle out of the water.

My brother, Leigh, got on the phone and called the Harbor Patrol to report our find, and then we noticed a white boat speeding toward us.  The Harbor Patrol was answered by a machine.  We notice that the white boat was still headed toward us.  Leigh called 911 and they asked if we could retrieve the package.  Leigh said we could and then the 911 operator asked if we would bring it in to port.  Leigh told them that it wasn’t really convenient for us to do that since we were on our way out for the day and asked for them to send a boat out to pick it up.

The white boat was making us nervous.  We’ve all watched too much TV.  What if it was the drug runners coming to retrieve their contraband? They would be equipped with AK47’s and could mow us down.  “We’ve got a boat headed right toward us,” Leigh tells the 911 operator, “Would you send that boat right out?”

We take pictures of the white boat.  In the back of my mind I think that when the Coast Guard recovers my bloodied corpse, they will also find the pictures, clues to start tracking down my killers…Yeah, way too much TV!

The white boat speeds right by us headed out to sea.  We are alone with a hundred pound bundle of high-grade marijuana hanging from the stern.

“How much do you think it’s worth?” someone asks.  None of us is knowledgeable of the current street value of marijuana and our estimate of $35,000. to $40,000., we find out later, is way under value.

A rescue boat from the harbor patrol reaches us and, after some maneuvering, hauls our bundle onto his boat.

With that excitement over, we begin searching for whales…but can’t help but look for more pot.  We don’t find either, but every once in a while someone would say something like, “If we had decided to keep it, how would we have gotten it off the boat?”  “How would we have gotten rid of 100 pounds of marijuana?  It’s not like we could turn our kids into pot vendors.”  …although a few of them would have been willing.

Returning to harbor we see a police vehicle driving along the beach and then we sail by the Oceanside Police Station as we enter the harbor.  We all agree that if we were trying to smuggle in the pot, we would be crazy with paranoia at the sight of so many police.  But, by this time, we had come up with a good plan for removing a large bundle off the boat unnoticed!

Later that evening we recounted our adventures to younger family members who all said the same thing, “Why did you call the police?  Why didn’t you bring at least some of it home?”  Our conversations continued to explore “What if…,” especially after we discovered that our bundle was worth somewhere between $400,000. and $500,000.  But really, to whom would I sell it? I don’t picture myself as the world’s oldest pot dealer.  I’m destined to live out my golden years living on my pension.

A Challenge for April

Last year I participated in the A to Z Challenge.  Every day for the month of April (except on Sundays), I wrote a post.  The idea was to use a different letter of the alphabet as a writing prompt, starting with the letter A and working my way through the alphabet.  There were a couple of letters that were challenging, but it was a good writing exercise, and I enjoyed seeing how other participants met the challenge.  

Each participant in the A to Z committed to visiting at least five other participating blogs each day and leaving comments.  I have a blogging neighborhood and I tend to stay within my little community.  The A to Z Challenge was like taking a vacation to a new country...there was a lot that was familiar, but I also was introduced to new ideas, new styles, and (frankly) the outright odd.

I just signed up to participate in the A to Z for 2014. Once again we will be working our way through the alphabet, starting with "A" on April 1st.   Last year there were several hundred participants, and this year there are already over 200 signed up!   If you are a blogger, I encourage you to participate.   Click here to read more about it and sign up.

Woolworth's and One Man's Legacy to America

I saw a posting on Facebook this morning that one of the "Greensboro Four" had died.  Franklin McCain died last Thursday after a brief illness.  I wouldn't have recognized his name, or even remembered "The Greensboro Four," if the posting hadn't included the iconic photo above.  In 1960 four African-American college freshmen sat down at a Woolworth's "whites-only" lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and asked for service.  Their request was refused and they were asked to leave.  They remained in their seats and thus started a sit-in movement that changed American history.  This non-violent protest touched off six months of sit-ins and economic boycotts and paved the way for many other protests of racists policies.

In February of 1960 I was 9 years old, yet I remember so much of the civil rights movement because it was brought into my middle class living room every day.  On the evening news we watched police attack peaceful protesters.  Life magazine arrived by mail every Friday with vivid photos of the struggle for civil rights.  Even though I lived thousands of miles from the south, I knew the songs and the chants of protests from television.  Our inhumanity was recorded and broadcast to the world.  And eventually our culture began to change.

We owe a debt to those brave individuals who stood up to change the status quo. As we look back in our history it is difficult to believe that there was a time where, not only did discrimination exist (because it stills exists now), but that such blatant discrimination was not recognized as wrong.  


The Woolworth's chain went out of business in 1997, but that lunch counter from the Greensboro Woolworth's lives on at the Smithsonian American History Museum.  It was one of my favorite exhibits to visit when I was in Washington D.C. because it reminded me of the power of a few individuals to make lasting change.  One of these days I will take my granddaughters to the museum.  It's important that we remember.

Rest in Peace, Franklin McCain. 

Out With The Old

No, I haven't thrown out the spouse!  We're heading to the coast this weekend.  For the past several years we have gone to the Oregon coast for a few days after Christmas.  It's usually cold and wet and uncrowded, and we like watching the waves crash ashore from the comfort of an overheated beach-front hotel room.  This time of year the whales are migrating along the coast to the warmer waters in California and Mexico and there's always a chance that we'll spot one through the binoculars. 

Rain or shine we'll be walking the beach.  The spouse has a new toy, a metal detector.  He has visions of finding great treasure buried in the sand.   I am once again a stereotype, the metal detecting senior citizen!

This year we're meeting my college roommate and her husband at the coast.  I made lots of great memories with Beth when we were younger.  I'm looking forward to catching up with her and creating some new one.

The after-Christmas sales are calling.  I really don't need anything, but the factory outlet mall at the coast is an opportunity for Beth and I to have some quality bonding time over discounted fashions.  Before I leave home I need to make room in my overfilled closets for any new treasures and fashion finds.
 

 

Since I retired I have purged my wardrobe several times.  It has been difficult for me to let go of my professional wardrobe.  My head knows that I don't need, and will never wear, all those suits that are still hanging on padded hangers, but there's a little voice that says "what if..."  Little by little I'm letting go and replacing professional wear with fleece, cotton jersey, and denim.  I also have a new category of leisure wear to incorporate into my wardrobe, RV clothes.    Since our RV is small and has limited storage, RV clothes are those that are multipurpose and can be rolled up and packed into a small space...and still be marginally presentable.  I don't have a travel iron in the RV!

It's time for me to quit the delaying tactics and get busy.  How many pairs of high heeled black patent leather pumps does a retired senior need?  It's so hard to decide if I want to keep the wedges or the heels.  This is definitely a first world problem!

Christmas 2013

I made a half-hearted attempt at decorating for Christmas.  I wrestled the tree out of its box and hung a few ornaments.  The tree is a little bare because I didn't bother getting down the ornaments from the high shelf in the garage…the 
easy-to-reach ones are good enough.  There's a wreath on the door and garland on the mantle.  That's enough Christmas to suit me.

We're not buying presents.  We don't need more stuff and neither do any of our family members.  When the opportunity presents itself, we'll pay for a fun activity or some other treat for our kids and grand kids.

Even though we're not the most festive house, I couldn't stop myself from baking.  I'm also struggling not to eat all those goodies I've prepared.  Tomorrow we will have traditional Christmas food…turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, and will eat leftovers for the rest of the week!

It will be quiet at Nana's this Christmas and I will count my blessings and be grateful for all the gifts I have been given this year.

Merry Christmas to all my cyber friends.  I wish you peace, joy and love.

Jann

We Like to Write

I like to write.  My youngest granddaughter also likes to write.  When she was very small she would scribble on paper and demand that we read it back to her.  She couldn't understand why we couldn't read her scribbles.  Now that she is in first grade she has finally figured out the whole letter/sound system.  My daughter sent me the following paper that she wrote in her journal in school.

My Nana

I love my Nana because she has fun projects.
She visits fom Oregon.
We go to the park to play.
She helps me pick up my room.  She is awesome and cool.
My Nana loves me

Hunter

Yep, I love her!  …and it's nice to know that I am awesome and cool!

Catching Up

I've been absent from these pages for several months.  I took the summer off because the grandchildren stayed with us for six weeks,  and I didn't do anything but make memories with them. 

4th of July with the second cousins

Digging for fossils in Fossil

Breaking the rocks to find fossils

Trying on antique clothing in the museum in Fossil

Gloves!

We hiked up to the bridge at Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls

We spent a week camping on the Oregon Coast.

Crafts with Nana.

Scrambling for candy at the Umatilla County Fair Parade.

Umatilla County Fair

We learned about local agriculture at the Sage Center.  Moments after this  picture was taken Megan fell off the stool.

Hiking with Grandpa Paul at Hat Rock State Park.

 Then I took a long-term substitute assignment at our local high school for a teacher who had just had a baby.  I had forgotten how much work it was to work!  I had great students, but it was exhausting…my teaching skills were rusty.  I felt like a first year teacher.  It was surprising how much had changed in the few years I had been retired.  I spent every spare minute the first few weeks just learning about all the new technology I needed just to take attendance, keep grades, and manage electronic portfolios.  I was relieved when the 10 weeks ended.

If you leave your iPad unattended in the classroom, the students will take selfies, and...

take pictures of the teacher when she is not paying attention!

In a moment of weakness I agreed to contract with the Education Service District to write grants.  Once again I was reminded of how much had changed since I stepped out of public education.  I am enjoying working with the local school districts on the grants, but it has required a lot of study time to get up to speed on the latest rules and regulations.  By the time I have written a grant application, it feels like I have used up my quota of words and have none left over for my blog.

Writing for me is a little like exercise.  I can skip a day here and there, and then before I know it, I haven't exercised for months.  I need to write regularly and, unfortunately, I've let myself fall out of the habit.   

Now I'm going to make the effort to write here more regularly.  It's good to be back.