Chapter 12

We went ... north. North to Back Creek. Mom met us at the mouth of Back Creek, We had the sails struck, boxed and shipped to the sail makers. They’ll get an expert going over and new made if needed. The mast was pulled and shipped, with rigging, by truck to Erie, Pennsylvania, riggers would check and repair as needed. No sailing until Lake Erie.

We motored the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and the Delaware River. and downstream to the ocean, North along the coast to New York, New York and the Hudson River.

New York, New York was an Education; Museums, Broadway shows, Rockefeller Center, the Village.

Mom bought ART ... some really obscure artists.

She said, “Big bucks someday,” like it was given.

She raided booksellers, pawnshops, ‘interesting’ auctions, estate sales, yard and garage sales ... she bought JUNQUE. That’s what she called it ... trash but ... junque. She did a lot of nodding and uhhuhing as each purchase went in the bag. If we were mining ... that came later ... if she was mining it’d be called ‘gold fever.’ Junque fever doesn’t have the same ring ... and sounds a bit ridiculous.

We were there in ‘the city’ just alongside Central Park ... in ‘family housing.’ Owned family housing ... not leased. Our family.

We never saw a one of them ... servants? Yes. Family? No.

Two years in the city ... on sabbatical ... she said.

The boat? Tied up in front of the Chapel on the East River south of the Coast Guard Station at Kings Point.

Us? Jackie and I? We received 4.5 grades from UofM ... were on the Dean’s List, Mensa, Presidential Scholars. I think we had clones going to school ... because WE were in New York, New York ... what a wonderful town. And I Don’t Know.

I discovered ... that autumn ... that the boat storage was due to the diver over the side at Big Tony’s. They brought mom’s gun back. Gift wrapped. Nice box ... Mahogany removed from the USS Constitution. Brass lable stating “From a Greatful Nation for services rendered.,” in ‘calligraphy.’ And I don’t know!

And we were blonde, blond, blonde and blue eyes ... still. And it was natural ... no dye. The three of us were born brunettes with quite unremarkable brown squinty eyes. Well ... mom said she was and we knew what we were ... then.

While the other ‘we’ ... and I use the term loosely ... were under-study in Ann Arbor, the present ‘we’ were in Merchant Marine school, learning the ins and outs of power. And taking sailing classes given by the Coast Guard.

Sailing classes are interesting. We learned where we went wrong on our sail from the Bahamas. I am heard to say ... often... “Well ... shit fuzzy.” and, “I’m surprised we made it.” Jackie ... on those occasions is a bobblehead.