Remember the umbilical chord that connected you to your mother during those formative months in untero?
Of course, we cannot remember having our tiny bodies attached to our mother's support system through the critical umbilical chord, but successfully attached we were and our presence is testimony to the miracle of the human body.
Last night, here on the Aqua RV, we rode out the rolling storms as they passed through our area. We knew they were coming and allowed Capt. SO to make advance adjustments to the lines and fenders. Our dockmates had returned home yesterday afternoon and asked us if we would keep an eye on their Aqua RV's lines and fenders as well. We, of course, said "yes" because most Aqua RV owners understand that we take care of one another.
After Capt. SO added three extra lines and tightened up already-present lines, we left the Aqua RV for an evening rendezvous with friends. The first line of the storms hit when we were in our friends' cottage but no untoward damages or surprises occurred. Two hours later the skies had somewhat cleared but then new, more threatening storm clouds appeared and we decided to head back to the Aqua RV. Around 9 p.m. all heck broke loose, with the rain, thunder and wind so loud that the our televisions could not be heard. Both of us scrambled to the upper deck to see "what was the matter" (from "Twas The Night Before Christmas"). Now, this may seem a silly place to be drawn to during a storm while one is on an Aqua RV, but that is where you will find most boaters during storms. The wind was ferocious, causing our dockmates' sailboat to list and strain on her lines so much that her hull looked as if it would hit the dock box in the slip. Visibility was limited to what could be seen during lightning strikes, but it wasn't hard to see what the wind was doing "next door". Our Aqua RV didn't seem to be adversely affected, thanks to the extra lines Capt. SO had secured.
About thirty minutes later, when the wind and rain had subsided for a brief respite, Capt. SO ventured out to shore up our neighbors' lines a bit. As we were preparing for bed and discussing the storm, I remarked how much boaters depend on their lines and Capt. SO said, "They are our umbilical chord to safety." Thanks to our "security" lines we were able to sleep, assured that the Aqua RV would stay in her slip.
I'm still ruminating on other symbolic umbilical chords. You might read more on this topic at a later time.
Ancora imparo
