THE DREAM
Has any man ever attained inner harmony
by pondering the experience of others?
Not since the world began. He must pass through the fire.
– Norman Douglas
The beginning ...
April 30, 2002
Well, if you can’t believe your therapist, who do
you believe?
The Globe and Mail Horoscope, that’s who!!!!!!!!! As
I drove to the farm on Saturday, I perused my fates ... it
provides (Aquarius):
“More than anything else, today’s
full moon will force you to identify your priorities
and
decide what it is you want most out of life. If that means
rejecting what partners and loved ones want you to do,
then
so be it. The most important thing is that you are happy.”
Well!!!!!!!!! There we (I) have it!! So what did I do? That
which I most often do when I am stressed and in need of thought
— I went for a run to think things out and come to a
decision.
An hour’s run down country roads from one’s farm
is pretty hard to beat — meandering river, fresh green
shoots in roadside ditches, geese high overhead in spreading
“Vs”, fallowed fields spreading as far as the
eye can see, and bursting buds of leaves to come — not
bad way to come to a decision!
It also helped that I was able to realize that a year ago
I had arrived at another difficult decision in much the same
way; that is, to run another marathon; hey, that worked for
me, Mom and the Arthritis Society.
As Keir has often observed, he has heard me talk of it, but
... and, of course, he is referring to “the sailing”
— I have often talked of, but never done “the
sailing”!
It is time to do “the sailing”!!!!
How best to get there? The same way as I got to the marathon;
commit to it, plan it, work on it and do it. The commitment
is complete; on or about the 1st of July 2004 I depart the
sailing trip, hopefully with a boatload of my closest friends
to do the first leg, Victoria to Maui; thereafter the trip
is mine, destination unknown.
The art collection is appraised and for sale; those who want
“dibs” on a piece (or pieces) speak now! The office
will be disposed of before departure, hopefully to a willing
group of dedicated young lawyers; the farm rented (or, Jeff?);
the biggest “garage” sale will be held, likely
on several dates; the house will be sold; Brewster
will be trained on boats or given to a loving farmer; and
“my house” will be in order!
Scary? You bet!! Exciting? You bet! Apprehensive? You bet!
Incredulous? You bet! Will it happen? You bet!
As several of you know, one of my closest friends, Ross
McBain, died last Friday (19th). Ross was the guy
who corrupted me with sail — took me on his boat just
after Mary Alice was killed, taught me how to “steer”
and the “pointy end” from the “blunt end”.
In the last months of his life I was fortunate enough to take
the time to spend several weekends in Calgary with Ross. We
spoke of many things, mainly  sailing.
When I shared with Ross “the plan”, his eyes twinkled,
then misted, and he said: “Jimmy, I am envious.”
He also said, “I know you will do it”. Ross had
a live-in caregiver, Mike, who I spoke to after Ross’s
death. Mike told me that one of Ross’s happiest days
was the Monday before his death when he got the copies of
the “log” of the Scotia Thistle and the Scaurend.
He laughed for hours, with images created by the words of
one Dougie Green to describe the antics of grown men learning
to sail. Ross was led to observe that he would not allow the
crew of the Scaurend to use “his” boat, after
reading the events of Danger Reef “1”, last August.
So in the words of Jimmy Buffett, “A Pirate Looks at
40” (in this case, “62” — I was always
a little slow!): In the next two years I have lots to do,
many friends to call and rely upon, and help to seek. I have
a few more marathons to run and places to visit. I also have
one more “dream” to get off the ground, which
I picked up in Germany while with Keir and his colleagues.
Once these are done, the sail will begin.
Cheer for me: it’s an undertaking I never thought a
kid from Kinistino would ever undertake!
Cheers,
Jim
Death is not the greatest loss in
life.
The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.
- Norman Cousins
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