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Sail on, my Captain
Sixteen years ago I wrote the following lighthearted poem in honor of my husband Roger and two friends, Roger and Mike, who raced our sailboat in the 1998 National Catalina Race held in Westbrook, Connecticut. They took first for the tall rig division in all three races. Yes, readers, the sailboat’s name was Sloopy, the inspiration for the fictional 36 foot sloop that Liz and Garret live aboard in Murder in Mystic, Murder in Newport and Two Headed Snake of Key West. Our Sloopy was fast and my husband could make a mighty Margarita.
I am sharing this with you in memory of my husband, who passed away on July 1, 2014. Sail on, my captain.
The pressure was on
To win a glass cup
Each silently prayed
He wouldn’t screw up
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The guy thing, you know
Machismo, at best
The challenge would come
They’d be put to the test
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The good Lord was laughing
As they hoisted the main.
These three would need blessings,
And more, it was plain
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Wine made from water
Was easy for sure,
But Roger, Mike, Roger
Three races endure?
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The task was immense
But these were nice guys
He raised His arms up
And Sloopy did rise.
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She raced to the finish
Three bullets to boot
Miracles do happen.
There’s proof in the loot.
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The lesson each learned,
To celebrate life
Believe in oneself
Be good to your wife.
Intruder
Nothing good, only bills, in the stack of yesterday’s mail I flipped through on my way back to the house. The Fall air was crisp. Columns of steam curled from the frost covered grass where rays of morning sun danced through the trees.
I sensed a presence long before I saw him blocking my path to the back door. Terror froze time. Our eyes locked. Does he smell my fear? I thought of running but there was no place to go. In seconds he could attack and I would be dead.
As if by an unspoken agreement of mutual respect, the bear turned to his right and lumbered down the hill to the next house. His slick black coat glistened in the sunlight when he stood on his powerful hind legs and shook the pear tree with his front paws until a shower of fruit fell at his feet. Like a toddler, he plopped on his bottom and ate the pears one by one until his belly was full.
That was my first encounter with the Granddaddy of black bears who caused the neighbors to buzz. Humans can purchase a piece of property, but do not own the Earth. Nature’s creatures roam free. Man is the intruder.
Beloved Sloopy
Fiberglass, aluminum and sailcloth are the bones, but the spirit lives in the heart of anyone who sailed her. Sloopy is the 36 foot sailboat in the Liz Adams Mysteries, Murder in Mystic and Murder in Newport. She is named after the 30 foot Catalina Tall Rig that my husband, Roger and I sailed for 14 years. Initially docked in Westbrook, Connecticut, she spent most of her days with us in the homeport of Mystic, Connecticut. As in fiction, Sloopy was our water home and carried us to adventure in New England waters. Our boys, Scott and Ron, then 17 and 14 respectively, named her. A combination of the lovable Charles Schulz beagle, Snoopy and the two sail sloop design, the handle, Sloopy, stuck.
The time we spent on Sloopy was priceless. It took us away from a hectic lifestyle as owners of a popular photography studio to a world where time stood still. We enjoyed our sons and their friends without the distractions at home. Meals shared in the cockpit as the sun slipped into the sea are forever burned into memory. Lifelong friendships were forged with other boaters.
Sloopy is a Champion. In 1998, she won the National Catalina 30 Tall Rig Cruising Class race in Westbook, Connecticut.
Sadly, we sold Sloopy in 2002, but she continues to be the inspiration for the Liz Adams Mystery series. More to come.
Marilyn Dalla Valle 