"It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to have to paint it." Steven Wright

The first time I put the boat in the river, I noticed a steady trickle seeping in from under the seat - right where that egg-sized glob of a patch had been applied. To make the best of a bad situation, I took my rod along, and headed for the mouth of Mink Trap Brook where Tim McKinnon usually catches some fine Brook Trout. The 2 HP Honda outboard started without too much trouble - even though it was the first time I'd had her out in 2 years. Managed to catch and release one 10 inch trout - not quite in the same category as Tim's lunkers. Now the boat must go to a man who will weld a patch on her. I think I'll take the wooden seats out and give them a coat of Benjamin Moore porch floor enamel while he's at it.

Photo by Random Phrump: Forteau, Labrador.

" When a thing is funny, search it for a hidden truth." - G.B. Shaw

One day when my dad was but a lad, his mum asked him to go to the store. This was in the aftermath of the Great Depression. A dime could get you a lot of things in those days - one of them was a quart of molasses. She put the coin into a clean milk bottle and sent him off to fetch her a quart of the grocer's finest.

At the store, the man behind the counter asked, "Sumpin' fer you, buster?"

Harold showed the note from his mother and placed the milk jug up on the counter. After filling the jar, the grocer demanded his payment. Harold said. "But, the dime was in the jar!"

The man held the jar over his head and, sure enough, there lay the dime beneath a quart of sticky, sweet molasses. He let my dad take the jug home, under promise to pay at the earliest convenience.

When Harold returned the next day with the dime, he overheard the man say, "See? I told you that boy would do the right thing."

I stopped in to see my Dad today - after my not-entirely-successful trip to the hardware store. He offered me an anchor drop, already made, for my new aluminum boat. It was one that he had built for his canoe, and it simply bolts on through the bow plate. Looks like it might be just the right thing... I'll let you know how it works.

Photo by Dave Dobson: October on the River Philip.

"He must be a thorough fool who can learn nothing from his own folly." - J.C. & A.W. Hare

When I pulled into the parking lot, the heavens opened and it began to pour rain. The man was waiting in his truck with his son - a boy of about eight. He opened a huge golf umbrella to give us some shelter while we transferred the boats. The boy ended up under the umbrella, watching as we untied my Zodiac from the roof rack, then his aluminum boat from the trailer.

Wait a minute! What is that? He hadn't mentioned the patch on the bottom - an egg-sized chunk of metal that had been melted into a gash. He swears it doesn't leak a drop. I probably should have turned tail right then and there, but I didn't and now I have the boat home in my garage.

I need to get some oars and oarlocks, a pulley and a piece of hardwood to make an anchor drop for the bow, then some stainless eyebolts for guides and a cleat to fasten the anchor line. That will make it safe for the river. Then we'll see if it leaks.

Photo by Drew Dobson: Western Brook, Newfoundland.

"Rivers are roads which move..." - Blaise Pascal

When my cousin, Lee, died suddenly, I inherited his 11' Zodiac. That was four years ago and I have used the boat about 4 times. Today, I am heading up the road to meet a man who wants to trade his 12' aluminum boat for a Zodiac. We will meet in a parking lot to exchange boats. I'll let you know how that works out.