[Paddlewise] The Old Man and the Sea

I was thinking today about all this talk of composite vs plastic vs
aluminium vs biofusionnewfangledwhatever. My mind was draw back to an old
man I once bumped into off Vargas Island about 17 years ago. There was a
good sea running that day and a cool wind whistled over the whitecaps. The
sky was typically bleak. I pulled alongside, bemused by the somewhat faded
canvas of this old guy's Klepper and the brownish brass of the once-bright
ferrule. I though _I_was the only one out there that day on a boisterous
sea. We exchanged itineraries and experiences as we bobbled around. He'd
been paddling the coast, in season and out, for decades. He'd just been up
to the Hot Springs for a soak. Been to Alaska and back too in the past, and
done some big lakes. He was wearing cowboy-style leather gloves -- you know
the kind, tan-colored and darkly-creased around the fingers. The wrist clips
were rusted-out. His black Sou-Wester was delaminated, leaving the
underlying canvas exposed. The rest of his gear looked pretty dubious too.
He did have a compass, hand held type, around his neck. He was definitely an
old geezer, as they say. I felt a little guilty -- of what I do not know. My
kayak was bright yellow, with a bright yellow surf helmet on the rear deck
and a full array of gadgetry. We parted company. I'm sure his kayak had
landed safely on many a shore, many more than he would ever be willing to
specify to anyone. Silently I wished him many more as he vanished behind,
his boat fully buoyant, his vessel fully seaworthy, and his life fully
lived.

I don't know what all this means. It just seemed like an appropriate
reflection.

Doug Lloyd
Victoria BC

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"Whatever can be said at all can be said clearly and whatever cannot be said
clearly should not be said at all."
Ludwig Wittgenstein
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