2021 Life Logs, Day 205: Sailing and A Full Moon
Date: Saturday, July 24, 2021
Weather: Beautiful Day; High Temp 79, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Bruce and Jane Woodin invited me to go sailing with them this morning on L’Escargot. It was a gloriously beautiful morning, but there was very little wind. Sam Patterson was with us. He prides himself on being able to keep a sailboat going in light winds, so Bruce handed the tiller over to him. Sam kept us moving for quite a while, but then the wind totally disappeared.
We started the engine and headed for Quissett Harbor. It was the first time I have entered that beautiful harbor on a sailboat since the summer of 2015 and it brought back a flood of memories. Mark and I lived aboard Windbird in Quissett for two summers and loved it there. It is truly is a quintessential New England harbor. I heard from Sam and Dawn this week that the sale of Windbird to a new owner is official and the final papers will be signed on Friday of this next week. All I know about the new owner is that he is a young man named Toby from Texas who plans to sail Windbird around the world again. I told everyone aboard L’Escargot today that I feel like a mother whole daughter is getting divorced and remarried to someone who is going to take her far away. I just hope he treats her as she deserves.

I got sad news this evening. Doris, one of the aunties that lives next door, has been in the hospital since Monday and she had a stroke yesterday. The hospital was planning to release her this evening and her daughter Caroline was arranging for hospice to come into her home in Scituate. Doris is 102 and has lived a good life. We’ll just have to wait and see if she can survive this episode. Her sister, Shirley, is going to stay in her home next door to me until they see how Doris adjusts to the transfer. The two sisters have lived together since Shirley’s husband died in 2013, so naturally Shirley is going to want to be with Doris.

A bit of good news is tonight’s full moon. It is beautiful. And the other good news is the Olympics. I really enjoy watching each athlete achieve his or her personal best, regardless of the sport. In the 1970’s, Mark and I did not have a television. The first time I remember watching the Olympics obsessively was 1984. That was the year Mary Lou Retton from West Virginia became the first US woman to win a Gold Medal in the individual all-around gymnastic competition. Since then, with the exception of 2008 when Mark and I were sailing through Indonesia, I have enjoyed watching the Summer and Winter Olympics.

I talked to Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco on a Skype video call this evening. It is the first time I have talked to them since they returned from England. The rainy season is in full swing in Puerto Rico, as is mango season. Wish I was there to enjoy those mangoes with them. They are adjusting to the tropics after a cooler than normal time in England. A friend gave Ziggy a keyboard this week, and he is learning play amazing quickly. I love talking with them, but I can’t wait to see them. It has been two years and that is just too long. This Friday is Coco’s birthday, so I’ll get another chance to talk with them then. And then I will get to see them when they come for Thanksgiving.