Cold Cold Cold

This morning I got up to 40 degrees of cold strong north wind. Ok,Ok I know some of you are walking around in T-shirts at that temp but living in the middle of a river on a boat, 40 degree's is cold.

I got out from under my blankets,put on my layers of sweaters and sweat pants and had a hot cup of coffee. The boat does have an alcohol stove but it's put away and I don't have any "burning" alcohol on board anyway. We have been having beautiful mid 70's days for weeks my body is not adjusted to this weather.

To make matters worse I needed gas for the generator. I also had made plans to go to the Stuart farmer's market. The generator keeps the batteries up allowing me to have lights and power for water and starting the engine. The weather looked sunny and bright but the wind was howling.

My dingy always has a little water in it so I leave a pair of shoe's in the trunk of my car so that I have dry shoe's to walk around in when I am on shore. Therefore I go bare footed for the 1/4 mile wet footed trip to the marina dock. Well off I went. When I tied up to the dock my feet, my hands, and my face were numb. The walk to my car was brutal and pain full.

After a long long hot shower my feet started to feel normal. I then walked to the farmers market. It looked like Eskimos had taken over. Next week a better blog on the market.

Oh Cisco , Oh Poncho

This week in Martin county where my boat is currently anchored they are having the Martin County Youth Fair. I have been driving by for the past week whatching various rides and food stands beginning to fill the fairgrounds.


Some of my fondest memories were attending the annual August event known as the Berrian County Youth Fair held in Berrian Springs Michigan. It marked the end of summer with school usually starting a couple of weeks after the fair ended. It was a big highlight of my summer. I loved all the different exhibits. There was a faucet that amazingly was suspended from a large tank of water that gushed water without falling. It was always there every year and I think I was a teenager before I figured out the trick. A pump pushed water up an inside tube of the faucet and water gushed out the outside of the tube making it look like the faucet was suspended in the air. I also liked the half painted cinder block that gushed water out the unpainted side but kept the water in the painted side. Simple things for simple times.

I also loved the livestock exhibits. Momma and baby pigs. Calves that would always nuzzle your extended hand. Giant draft horses and smaller ponies that also loved attention. The 4 H kids had their sleeping bags there and I always envied the fact that they spent the entire week sleeping in the stalls next to their animals. At 12 I wondered what it would be like sleeping in a stall next to a girl. I had heard by that time there were "loose" girls. I didn't know of any "loose girls" because most moms had drilled the" stay away from boys" mantra into their heads so effectively that it took until senior high school to over come it. At 12 I wouldn't have had any idea what to with a "loose" one anyway.

Every year in March the Fair would announce the entertainment schedule for Fair week. Being a small out of the way place with the appropriate budget we would get mostly a diet of B list teen bands or Country and Western acts .Along with a couple of nights of dirt track car racing the local county folk were happily entertained. I loved the dancing dogs.

One year though it was announced that the famous legend of TV and silver screen was coming to the Fair. None other than the Cisco Kid would be preforming with his "wonder horse" at the fair for 2 nights.

In those days Saturday morning TV ruled kid lives. Our early morning Saturday TV was not the cheap animation that kids see today but dramas about real people and their important adventures The bad guys were always soundly beaten by the good guys. There was no gray in these contests just good versus bad and bad always got their comeuppance in less that 30 minutes.

The cost for the extra Saturday sleep time for parents was all kinds of sugary cereals and plastic toys that kids demanded when at the store. Sky King and his chaste and proper niece Penny ,Lassie and Timmy, Beaver and Wally, filled the morning until the old man was sufficiently awake for Saturday sports.My Grandfather loved wrestling and but would always change over to American Bandstand.     Hmmmm.   For me and my friend the must see can't miss was the Cisco Kid and his ever faithful sidekick Pancho. It was totally non PC. The "Kid" spoke perfect English with no Spanish accent while Pancho spit out the English of a Tijuana street vendor. Pancho's speech was the perfect counter point to the "Kids" perfect English. It was great Saturday morning TV and all my friends were fans. From March announcement on I planned to maneuver my parent's visit the Fair to one of those days that the Cisco Kid and Poncho would be preforming.

A week before the Fair our local newspaper announce that the "Cisco Kid" would be visiting local communities to promote all the great and wonderful things the soon to be opened Fair would offer. He would arrive in front of the Berrian County Record in Buchanan at 11am the following Saturday to shake hands and sign autographs for his fans. Wow Wow. I immediately called my friends "The Cisco Kid is going to be in Buchanan on Saturday. " Bull". " Yes he"s going to be in front of the Record at 11am on Saturday. "We have to go." "How do you know?" " 'Read the paper."

On the appointed Saturday my friend and next door neighbour Mike and I after doing our house chores started the 7 block trek to the offices of the Berrien County Record. We left at 10am to make sure that we had front row viewing of the most important visitor to ever come to Buchanan. Along the way we planned to pick up friends so that our entourage was noticed and appreciated by the great TV star. Our first stop was was our friend Ted"s house Knock,knock, "Come on the Cisco Kid in 45 minutes." "Can't go. gotta mow the yard.""What do you mean you can"t go? Its the Cisco Kid.""My Dad told me to mow the yard by noon."

The next stop was our friend Pat"s house Knock ,knock no answer.Knock,knock,"Hey you looking for Pat?" a kid asked. " Yea". I said. "His mother took he and his sister shopping." "What." "They left about 10 minutes ago." "But the Cisco Kid is going to be here in half an hour.""Who's that? " he said . "Just the most famous person to ever come to Buchanan" I said. "Never heard of him."

Off we went knowing our friends would be kicking themselves for having missed the chance to see our hero  and bask in his celebrity glory.When we turned the corner of the street the paper was located on there were only 4 other kids waiting. This wasn't right. With 10 minutes to go only 6 people were there to greet the famous movie star and TV actor? As we joined the throng of now 6, a man with a camera came out of the papers office.Now we were 7. At 11am our excitement began to grow.Well the kids anyway. The photographer was mumbling about his other plans and his day off.

 As 11am became 11:30 and no Cisco the photographer's words were starting to become expletives .The August sun was hot and beating down and at noon I started to get worried. Looking up and down the street expecting to see the Kid riding up anytime with his horse. "Maybe he ran intro some outlaws" I said to Mike. "Maybe on the Red Bud Trail or the Niles -Buchanan Road." Mike commented.

At 12:15 we saw a black Ford turn on the street.The car pulled up in front of the paper's office and stopped. The back door opened opened and out stepped the Cisco Kid. No horse,, no sombrero no silver handled six shooters and no Poncho. "Hi kids sorry were running late" he said to all 7 of us. He smiled , the photographer snapped his picture and the Kid was ducking back into the car."Where's you horse? Where's Poncho" I yelled?" "Back in Hollywood ." he said as the door shut and the car drove off.

When I got home my mother wanted to share in the excitement I had in seeing the Cisco Kid. "Did you see him? she asked.   "Eeeh.  "You know his show is Thursday.Do you want to go?" "Naw Ive already seen him. I think I really want to see the baby calves and rabbits.

Mother Mother

Living on a sailboat I tend to listen to a lot of Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffet. One of my favorites by Jimmy is Mother Mother Ocean. It got me to thinking about my mother. Not just the one who gave me birth but also the one s that are a reflection on who and what I am. As sit on the boat I. now have the time to revisit those things that made me who I am.

One of my mothers is my old home town Buchanan Michigan. It was a remarkable place to grow up and I thank God that he picked that place for me. It is much changed now but at that time a more perfect place for a growing boy could not be found.

It is not a big place just 5000 or so souls but there are only fond memories of that place and the people that lived around me. It was my world. I could be across town at a friends house and if we were a little out of line my mother was likely to get a phone call concerning my behavior. If the offence was bad enough I could easily get a switching when I got home.My children do not understand community. We live isolated lives.behind locked doors. Most of us could not tell you there neighbor's names. How easily we are controlled by the news that we only get from the TV.

Our small town was a community and from the age of 7, I was free to roam anywhere within the city limits "Do not go down by the river" I was cautioned. "Bums are down there sometimes". Of course that wast  the first place we headed. Didn't know what a "bum" looked like but that's where we went. Never saw one but not from the lack of looking. Maybe it was just the river that worried my Mother.

My first bike was as important to me as my first car was. It was freedom from the adult world. It was transportation and it took me to all the important places of my daily life. My summers were consumed by pick up baseball games and the cold pond water of the McCoy creek behind fhe Elliot's house. Nothing was finer than jumping into that cold cold pond after a tough day on the dusty fields. How things have changed. Those fields are empty now until there is a coach and uniforms and a schedule that brings kids to the old ball park. To bad To bad

At night after going to bed in a non air conditioned upstairs "sweat box" I could with the window open hear the rhythmic thud of the large drop press at the Buchanan Steel factory across town. Thud, thud, thud . It was the sound of home and security. It was the sound of friends and community. It was the sound of a mothers heart beat. Thud thud thud.. Oh how I would love to hear that sound again