Avast, Me Hearties

Back in my kayaking days two very good friends of mine, Susan and Kathy, were often my companions on the rivers and ponds of Vermont. The Williams River was a good choice for twists, turns and mild rapids, the Connecticut was chosen for day long trips with many stops for cheese, crackers, sweet summer fruit, water and the occasional beer. We often managed ten miles or more, paddling downriver on slow, lazy currants, pleasant conversation and laughter mingling with the splash of paddles and birdsong.

From the day I first launched my boat into green waters I swore that I was going to make and attach a pirate flag to my kayak and jokes were made about pillaging and plunder as we paddled our way through the warm, fragrant summers. Every spring I'd swear that that year would be the one when my promised flag would appear, but I never did get around to it.

And then, this last weekend, Susan and her husband came down for a visit on their return from a weeks vacation on an island off the coast of Florida (shared with Kathy and her husband) with a very unusual gift. A pirate flag! She and Kathy had come across it while shopping and could not resist. It will adorn both my power chair and wheelchair at every outing, warning all who pass that I am a force to be reckoned with.

Shiver me timbers! Aarrrr!