Opua: yellow submarine; GANDHI
Opua: yellow submarine; GANDHI
Although the object on the left side of the photo isn’t a submarine, it is promoted as such. When afloat the blue part with the windows is below water and offers passengers a submarine view.
The buildings are in the marine industrial park between the marina and the boat yard. There is a second row which is not visible. They house the rigger, electricians, diesel mechanics, sailmaker, etc.
The photo was not taken from my mooring, but just after dawn last month while I was tied to the boat yard dock when the colors were unusually intense.
The air here is clear--it certainly gets washed often enough, and there is no industry within fifty miles and few people and cars--and I enjoy watching light and shadows change on hills and water during the day.
That clarity of air and the silence are two of the biggest contrasts between the two parts of my life. On the mooring I seldom hear any sounds other than those made by wind and water, unless I make them myself by turning on the engine or music.
Although we were under a gale warning yesterday, when I awoke at 5:15 the pre-dawn sky was clear and starry, so I rowed ashore, did my laundry, and was back on the boat by 8:00.
We never did have strong wind or more than brief showers, but 40 knot winds were recorded in exposed places not far away. This basin is very well protected, with the only long fetch being the two mile narrow and shallow inlet to the east, which makes the 70+ knot winds in the July storm all the more remarkable.
My repaired radar is due to be delivered today or tomorrow. I may row in late this afternoon to see if it has arrived.
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I watched GANDHI last evening. I had not seen the movie for a long while. Ben Kingsley may have been chosen for the role because of physical resemblance, but he did a fine job.
With so public and legendary figure, it is difficult to know how accurate the portrayal of Gandhi was, but I could not help but contrast this exceptional man with the leaders the United States has had for the past half century. I have begun to wonder if the system has evolved so that it can provide no other.
There are a few brief eras with an exceptional number of great individuals. Periclean Athens, Elizabethan England, and Revolutionary America come to mind. Such eras raise the question as to whether potentially great men and women are always among us, and only in extraordinary times do they get the opportunity to display their qualities. I expect that this is the case.
I read online recently that Hillary Clinton’s hold on the Democratic nomination for President next year is all but unassailable.
I am not opposed to Mrs. Clinton because she is a woman, but because she is just another shifty lawyer.
Revolutions are always betrayed, usually almost immediately.
If the United States can do no better than pass power back and forth for a generation between the Bushes and the Clintons, the American Revolution may finally have been betrayed by mediocrity.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007