Dreams

When I was about 14, there was a guy down the street who was building a trimaran in his back yard.  He had dreams of taking his family on a trip across the pacific and down to places like Samoa, Tahiti, or Yap.

My dad would watch him work on the boat, at little at a time.  I think when we moved into the area, the guy had most of the shell finished but not quite all of it.

Around then, my dad started talking about building a ferro cement boat so we could sail into the sunset towards the pacific islands of Robert Louis Stevenson's life.  He had just finished his English degree while working at Sears full time so he could have a better future for us.

When he first mentioned building a boat out of cement, I could not picture that. At 14, all I knew was that cement was used to put around people's feet when the mob wanted to get rid of someone permanently or it was used in patios.  It honestly blew my mind.

My dad took time to talk about how the boat is built in such a way as to distribute the weight so the boat actually floated.  I even remember my dad going to the book store (this was before online places) to order books on the topic.

I think he envisioned us following the stars and stopping at various places to experience all that life and paradise could offer.  I don't know why dad never pursued this particular dream but it was one he had for a couple of years before we moved again.


Dad never got the boat of his dreams built and I honestly don't know if the neighbor ever finished his boat.  My sister is the one who bought a lovely sailing boat that she and her husband regularly take out.  She talks about when they retire, selling off their house and heading out into the sunset.