Nearly Overboard
“Other side!” The fishermen yelled nearly in unison one right after the other, down the line while each burly guy with his cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth, shot back from the starboard railing of the boat as it turned around for yet another pass over a particular patch of good fishing. I was told the ropes. “If you’re sick, take it over the side – do not come down into the cabin bathroom!” The boat’s altered orientation continuously aimed it in a new wind direction as it circled; and the wind was strong and erratic. I was often forced to traverse a seriously rocking boat to get to the ‘other side;’ a side with a more appropriate wind direction for that moment. In my state I did not have the luxury of choosing and changing sides mid session. In spite of the fishing men’s repeated frustration, with my poor projection of wind, waves, and the captain’s zigging, zagging, and circling boat; my state of consciousness was ...