Sailing Inspired Writing

I have been writing a lot since I have been here, even playing around with poetry. Here's a little sailing/van morrison inspired piece:

Sail into the mystic....step forth onto the vessel and raise your sails. For your boat is sound , you have prepared it for rough seas. It will withstand the currents and steer through troubled waters onward to its destination. Allow the wind to fill your sails, let it carry you, surrender to its power and absorb yourself in the beauty of the sea, the sun, and the sky that surround you. Let it speak to you, listen for the wisdom in each breeze that passes across your face and find strength in the warmth the sun casts on your skin. Sail into the mystic.....

Lots of love to all,
Kristen

10 minute blog entry

I came to the internet cafe with the intention of making several posts in one sharing stories of the last two weeks and painting a picture of the diverse community I have become a part of. I made the mistake of checking my email and facebook messages first and now I am left with minimal time and too much to say. This will be a good test of my summarization skills......

We are still in Ft. Myer's working on "Luciferous"(translation: A shining light), things are coming along very well and seem to have gotten easier since I completely dropped any expectations about this adventure. So, we aren't sailing around the Bahamas yet, but what gifts have I been slipped in the meantime? I have learned how to row a row boat(requires some cooridination), know all my tools and how to use them, have met people who I already know have changed me because of the encounter, and most surprisingly have faced my fear of being center stage by singing karoke to a room FULL of people. The first time was a flop and I laughed and smiled my way through, but second time seemed to be a hit because the whole crowd joined in. I picked a better song, thats key, pick a song the crowd will know. The average age around here is 50 so my first choice of Jack Johnson didn't go so well. Apparently their is a video I have yet to see, and if its not too embarrassing I will post it for you all to enjoy.

Back to the boat...... The first "shake down" (a short sail done to see what is going to break) was exciting, we had high winds that broke some import stuff.... at one point Roy gently told me to gather any important valuables into one bag because if the fiberglass crack around the rudder post gets any bigger, then we would have too much water coming in for the pumps and would sink. Humm, that tested my ability to stay calm under a high pressure situation......I chanted 'Om Namah Shivaya' to take my attention off the fact that we might be sinking soon, while I chose what was important and bid farewell to everything else. We made it back slightly stressed, but safe. Since then we have gotten things fixed and have taken Luciferous out twice and all went smoothly. I have gotten lots of hours at the helm and really enjoy being behind the wheel, rather than steering with a tiller.

The new plan is to set sail at the end of the week, we are waiting for some weather to clear and for Roy's daughter and husband to join us.

Okay, its been 25 minutes and they are kindly letting me stick around after closing time. Better run now....sorry for errors. I will write more next time.

Love Kristen