69th Birthday? Really?

For everyone wishing me a happy birthday today... thank you. I should not be here. The tree whacking me on the head in 2013 would have killed a normal person. But me Irish genes pulled me through, and my Polish side says "You want a fight? C'mon, bring it."

And me Irish side keeps saying...

The devil whispered in my ear "you are not strong enough to withstand the storm."

I whispered in the devil's ear, "I am the storm."

Your birthday wishes remind me of how lucky and tough I am.  And to the devil... you do not want me down there. I will make your life a living hell.

Visions

I am going to tell you all something that I have never told anyone. I have visions.

I am currently receiving mental health therapy for depression. I go to group therapy Monday through Friday. Am I nuts? Most likely. But there are things that I have come to learn about myself because of therapy.

There are two "me's". The conscience me that muddles through the day. And the unconscious me. The later is the me with artistic abilities who can paint, photograph, write, and ponder deep thoughts.

My visions come to me while asleep. These are not just dreams. These are vivid and there is a clear difference between dreams and visions.For example... many years ago, I was studying to become a Mormon. This is a religion that I admire. I was visited once a week by a Sister and an Elder. But as I got serious into converting from Catholicism to Mormonism, I had a vision. "THIS IS NOT MY RELIGION" it yelled. I stopped the visits by the Sister and Elder. I knew then that my visions were real.

When my dad passed, I had a vision. In this vision, saw people as far as I could see. Then my dad and mom appeared from thecrowd. "Look who I found!" my dad said, with his arm around my mom. There is an afterlife, my vision told me, and my mom and dad were OK.

For background, I am certainly different. I had an EEG after a car accident some 50 years ago. My doctor called me back to the hospital to repeat the EEG. After that was complete, he called me into his office to tell me that my brainwaves were abnormal. He had never seen anything like it.

So, because of therapy and connecting all of the dots like my weird brainwaves, I now realize that I am not normal compared to you all. I am wired differently. Perhaps that is why Sasquatch, who are very spiritual, can and will communicate with me, as does a higher power. It is why I know things about the Forest People that no one knows.

But am I crazy, or just coming to grips with a reality. At this point in my life, I am understanding that I have a gift. A gift that I am still coming to grips with. Or... I am just nuts.

Book Two is Published

 Well, actually it is book six for me.  But the first four are about Sasquatch, the last two about Drift Away and the live aboard lifestyle.

This is book one, available on Amazon and everywhere books are sold.  It covers the first part of our cruise, from Stamford to Albany to Annapolis and includes all of the highs and lows, including losing both engines off Sandy Hook and what we did to fix our fuel tank problems.

The second book is Annapolis to Savannah (actually Isle of Hope just outside of Savannah) and is more cruising oriented since we're actually moving.  This book is just published and hasn't made it to general distribution yet but is now available on Lulu.

Book three in the series will cover from Savannah to Brunswick to Jacksonville (Green Cove Springs, actually).   I haven't started on that one, taking a short break.   And that should do it... of course, I do tend to get wordy, so there may be a book four.  But I will do my best to keep it short... although there are victory beers involved.


Dave's author page on Amazon.

Be Like Sammy

I don't think we realize the impact we have on other people's lives. That being said, sometimes we instantly recognize the impact others have on us.

When Pamela and I traveled south on Drift Away, we stopped at Isle of Hope Marina outside of Savannah. We very quickly met the goodwill ambassador of Isle of Hope, Sammy Moore. Sammy was one of those guys you took an instant liking to. Happy, friendly, and outgoing.

Pam and I were admiring the blue glass tied to a small tree in his front yard and Sammy came down and introduced himself, and then invited us up to the apartment over his garage for a visit. That's where Sammy lived. Next to it was the house he owned, but he didn't live in that. It was more than he needed.

Sammy was an excellent photographer and was the inspiration for me to buy my Nikon DSLR and to get serious about photography myself. Sammy hated his photo being taken. This photo I took without him knowing it with my 300mm zoom lens.

Sammy also had a great sense of humor. Isle of Hope banned golf carts on the streets. This photo was Sammy's response.

Sammy was sick. His cancer returned. Sammy loved our pit bulls and we intended to make a trip from Florida to see Isle of Hope and Sammy again, but Sammy died on New Year's Day.

Remember what I said about Sammy not wanting his picture taken? Whenever he depicted himself in a photo, he replaced his head with a happy face drawing. See the third photo. To me, this is the finest

tribute that could have been paid to Sammy.

Sammy was beloved by all that knew him. Have a positive impact on the lives of others.

Be like Sammy.

The Voyage of Drift Away: Stamford to Annapolis

Well, I wrote book one of an anticipated two book set, the Voyage of Drift Away:  Stamford to Annapolis.   The next will be Annapolis to Green Cove Springs (below Jacksonville).

It is in the process of being published.  Until I receive a proof and approve it, the book is available only on Lulu.com (click on the link above).   Within a couple of weeks, it will be available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, your local bookstore, etc.

I did not go color.  The 6x9 paperback would run $105!  Ain't no way!   So the photos are black and white.  If anyone really wants color, let me know and I'll have one made for you. 

I used this photo on the cover, one of my favorites.

New Plan for the Books

I communicated with a publisher about this Drift Away blog transferred to Drift Away books.  First, I was told that publishers aren't interested in a series of books, which this would have to be.  At least two, perhaps three books worth.  Then I was told that they weren't interested in publishing a blog format book. 

Alright.  Well... I am.  My first book, Living Among Sasquatch:  A Primer is in a blog format and those who reviewed it loved it!  It is a diary of sorts, so the reader follows right along with us in our learning curve.   Most certainly the same would hold true in Pamela and me buying a derelict old trawler, making it serviceable, and then traveling down the east coast on it.  Blog format it will be.

Publishing in color is also important to me.  The blog photos are one key to the success of the blog, and therefore so too the books.  I thought I'd have to do hardcover to get color photos, but I found a less expensive alternative.  I can publish a 6 x 9 full color paperback, which is the way I will go.  I mean really, who is going to pay $100+ for a hardcover book?  Not this cheap old bastard.

I learned in business long ago that the secret to success is to listen to your customers.  My blog and book readers are my customers, and I hear you.  I will forego traditional publishing and self publish the books my way, not their way.  Even if I don't achieve the volume of book sales of a traditional publisher, I don't care.  This is the way you've asked for it, and the way I like it, the way you will get it, and the way I think it will work best.

Volume one will be Stamford to Albany to Annapolis, and ~may~ be available by Christmas.  The next volume(s), from Annapolis to Jacksonville, will be in 2018.

That's the plan.  Like cruising on Drift Away, it may change, but that is at least the vague idea.  It is time for a victory beer.

The Voyage of Drift Away - The Book(s)

This blog has been an online chronicle of not only Drift Away the boat, but Pamela and me, our dogs and cats, our travels, and our lifestyle.  Many of you have asked if I'm going to write a book about it.  I am now in the process of doing exactly that. 

But I have a problem.  It is getting too big. I'm not even through the first year and the book is over 300 pages, and I have two years to go.

I thought about leaving out the photos, but as they say, a picture is  worth a thousand words.  Make it only about our travels?  Naw.  Too many cruising books out there already.  Leave out the boat projects?  No!  That was half the "fun" (I just got to the part where we were replacing the refrigerator and found out the old one was glued in). 

I left out the obvious parts, like going to car shows.  But that ain't enough.

So I decided that instead of cutting out sections, I would just include the entire thing.  When I finish and see exactly how big it is, I'll start editing it and whittling it down.

As you long time followers know, we spent a lot of time in Annapolis, Isle of Hope, and Brunswick, and I won't bore you with repetitive happy hours, etc.  So maybe it won't be too bad.

But what I'm considering is breaking it down into two volumes.  The first would be 2011, the second 2012 and 2013 to keep the size and cost manageable.  To make the photos color, which I think is important, the volumes would have to be hardcover. 

The cost of color hardcover books is lofty.  The 174 page hardcover book I just published (Sasquatch, not cruising) sells for $59.99 on Amazon.  These could be twice that each.

I can also do eBooks and paperback with black and white photos for the thrifty of us. 

Just thinking  out loud here.  Any thoughts?