Old Man Boat Talk

   I'm getting old. The hints keep coming. It might be the light colored hairs that have been showing up in my beard lately (grey) or maybe the ritualistic grunt I make every time I get up out of a chair. When did sitting on the floor become so uncomfortable? I'm not that old, but I definitely feel older. What's good about getting older? Old man boat talk*.
   When I first moved aboard our sailboat in Seattle I was introduced to Dan - our next-boat neighbor. Dan's older than me and has lived aboard for quite some time.

   "Did you get rain last night?" Dan asked one morning. 
   "Nope," I said.
   "Well I got 6 inches," said Dan.
   "Wow, that's crazy, I didn't get a drop!" I exclaimed.
   "Yep, I got two drops on deck, six inches apart!" quipped Dan.

   There you have it. Old man boat talk. Older dude dishes zinger to younger (but getting older) dude. I didn't even see it coming. I guess technically it was weather talk in this case - but around boats, on the dock, and from an old man.
  As the years go by out here on the docks I've heard a lot of old man boat talk, not all zingers, some just plain funny.

   "What's the date, it's the 28th, right?" asked one sailor to another.
   "It's not the 28th," said the older sailor with certainty, " it's the 3rd".

   It turns out they were both wrong - it was the 6th! One of those guys was a week off! That dude lost a week! 

   At the end of the day I'm thankful for all of the funny talk around the docks. Living aboard can be challenging and a lot of serious things can be going with people and their boats at any given time. It's nice to laugh about the big stuff, the little stuff, the boat stuff.
   ~Paul    ETC

*I'm positive there's old woman boat talk too, I just don't know any old women on my dock…nor would I dare call them out for being old!