Last Friday, when the thermometer hovered near 80 degrees, I took advantage of the warm sunshine and went on a little photo spree starting at a dock down Redart.
Before I arrived at this dock, I had pulled over on the side of the road about a quarter mile away to take pictures. I've been down here enough to know this particular dock is plastered with No Trespassing signs. And who am I to argue with a sign, or at least so many signs?
(I might put up a little argument with one sign. But when the signs outnumber me and start giving me the hairy eyeball, I tend to back down. There's nothing worse than the hairy eyeball. Where did that phrase come from anyway?)
Back to the topic at hand, in the car I hopped and drove slowly towards the multitude of No Trespassing signs that started to snicker the closer I came. As I approached the dock, a man crossed the road in front of me. Rolling down my window, I explained that I just wanted to take some pictures of the boats.
"Well. I wondered what you were doin'," he said.
He had seen me a quarter of a mile away pulled over on the side of the road.
Desperately trying to get a picture legally.
Without trespassing.
After we went through the Mathews Checklist of Sizing Up a Stranger (which includes discussion of family, length of time in the county, exact location of residence, what you do for a living, the maiden name of your maternal grandmother, and at least one bit of evidence over and above all that which puts the other party at ease once and for all), we launched into a discussion about these boats and about the gentleman himself.
He's still trying to eke a meager existence out of the water. A little oystering and crab potting are all he's up to these days.
He's 70 years old.
70.
Seventy.
Seven. Tee.
It's hard enough for a younger person to survive in this fading industry. For a 70-year-old to still be at it is admirable, to say the least. Astonishing, if you want to know the truth. There's nothin' easy about workin' on the water.
Why I didn't get his picture is beyond me, although after he told me to go on down to the dock and take as many pictures as I wanted--any time I wanted--giddiness set in. So I neglected to take his picture in all my euphoria.
I plan to take him up on his generous offer again soon. So maybe next time.
Next time I'll also be taunting those haughty No Trespassing signs.
Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.
14 comments:
CBW I wonder if your new pal would enjoy a thermos of coffee or some homemade cupcakes next time you are down by those docks.....
I would never pass muster with him, my being an outsider, Yankee, and current CA resident. I have some Irish ancestry and Scandinavian history (which included the tragic loss of a great-grandfather who was a fisherman and washed overboard in the icy Bering Sea.) Would any of that count?
Your photos are beautiful--those boats have the same wistful charm
of the deserted old homes you photographed. Happy weekend....
LLC
I have no idea what this man looks like, but he reminds me of my great-uncle who was in his late 60's and still crabbing and making me haul in a gill net.
You need me along to help you ignore no trespassing signs, I'm quite good at it.
Oh gosh, well this Jerzee girl would have not gotten far!
I was thinking about crabbing just yesterday, and how much fun I had last summer doing it...around here they are still in the mud, but I cannot wait to get out there again. I miss my garlic crabs...
I have to get in touch with my friend Leslie, she would make the best sauce for her fried oysters...it was made with cream cheese of all things...just wonderful...
yes and the boats are nice too!!
have a great weekend CBW!
Great pictures!
Wow. That little run in worked out well for you. My step dad the painter asked me if I had taken any marina type photos for painting inspiration and I had to say no because of all those NO TRESPASSING signs. Dang. I was driving around a couple of weeks ago, in a neighborhood, (NOT in a gated community), just following real estate signs, just looking, when a dude pulled over on his golf cart to question me! He was nice enough but gosh, can't a girl do some sightseeing?
I'm happy you passed muster and sized up so you could take these wonderful photos!
No Trespassing doesn't apply to us. At all. And from where I sit, 70 ain't looking so old...
did ya tell him you was a big time published book writer? I bet he wouldnt have cared but I do bet he was charmed by your smile .. and 70 ... Toonman passed that a few years ago
there seemed to be quite of few of those no trespassing signs around when we were there, we respectively obeyed them however wished we could have gotten closer to the lighthouse oh well maybe next time.
Beautiful boats and story, thank you.
Love the pictures of the working boats. We have those at this end of the Bay too, but here the transom isn't rounded like those are. Also, there are not nearly as many as there used to be, to hard to make a living at it.
As I was reading your post, I was thinking, "I bet she has a picture of him at the bottom." Not! But now that you have an "in" to the marina, I bet you could go back and not only get his picture, but maybe some great stories of being on the water as well.
Seventy isn't really THAT old. At least it doesn't to me since I'm looking real close at 63.
I love how you size each other up. And you simply must go back and get his picture. He practically invited you to do so!
I love the boat pics... and I think you need to profile this nice waterman in the near future.
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