Date: 1 August 2014. Boating Changes over the Decades.
© janice142
Boating has gone through many
changes over the decades I have been enjoying same. In the early 60's boats were much smaller
and the boaters we met were predominantly retired folks. As a matter of fact,
during my entire childhood I remember just a half dozen other
children living aboard boats and none had been born aboard.
I was alone. Still am...
Calvert [http://calverteducation.com]
provided lessons for some and I certainly sold enough book reports
to students to make it worth my while. $1 per page incidentally
was the going rate. As long as I was reading a book, typing a
report to sell later seemed like an easy money making endeavor to
me.
I typed a one page synopsis of each book I read,
thus having a ready supply of book reports.

For others, private tutors were
an option selected by those with means. Mostly our
fellow cruising partners were kind enough to share their interests and
taught me the necessities. The best teacher though was
Mother.
She taught me to read when I was
quite young and that was truly the best gift ever. Learning how
others lived long ago and into the future was fascinating. I
still love reading. Recently I have read/am reading some Bennett
Cerf anthologies.

Note re the Bennett Cerf books:
these contain mostly anecdotes and short blurbs. They are
guaranteed to make me smile. In this politically correct world
these would be considered bad. I am an adult, and a redhead at
that. When I read about a tight Scotsman I pick the relative. And
a Irishman would naturally either own a pub or be a policeman.
These books are stereotypical humor of the age. I like it. You may
not.
As for home school options, Calvert has not changed much over
the years. It is classical education at its finest and everything
literally comes in the box. I used it with my duo too, and the
same poem I had to memorize is still in the curriculum. Sea
Fever is one of my favorites to this day.
|
Sea Fever
by John Masefield
I must go down to the seas again, to
the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again,
for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
All I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the seagulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to
the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted
knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
|
|
The 1970's brought a new set of
youthful boaters. They were the hippies and frankly not an
improvement in my view. Of course the younger folks did what young
people do and soon enough there were babies on the way. Some of
those parental units stuck with boating but for the most part, they
moved on to dirt and joined the mainstream.
Following the pot-smoking hippies,
came the wealthier yuppies. Suddenly larger incomes brought conspicuous consumption
and yachting became an attainable goal. Boats became larger, faster
and lots fancier. It was an improvement and there can
certainly be many
good things said about visiting a decadent life aboard a yacht.
Cocktails onboard a Hatteras can be
quite the aphrodisiac. And that is one reason why Hatts are so
popular.

Now we see the prices of fuel
skyrocketing and the doomsayers are out in full regalia. Always
there have been those swearing that the boating experience has
"Changed for the Worse" and is on it's last sea legs.
Boating has changed and so too has
everything in the world.
I have chosen to celebrate the new
while seeking comfort in the familiar. Perhaps you as well?
What changes have you seen over the years?
Is boating on it's last sea legs?
Regarding the Comments Section,
found at the end of every article:
-
Before you type in each block be
sure to hit the backspace key. Coding inserts a space in every box.
Your email address will come back as malformed unless you remove
that space. (You don't have to include your email address.)
-
The capcha is case sensitive.
|
COMMENTS:
© 2014, 2023
Category:
Boat Talk,
Books, Characters,
Memory Lane,
Vignettes
DeWalt Drill Fix ~ Previous
Post ...
... Next Post ~
Pet Poop Primer (it's not horrid!)
|