This one goes out to the small brown bugs that have been dive-bombing us for the past twenty-four hours, and that I (Piers) keep discovering I've inadvertently crushed into surfaces I had hoped to keep clean.
Today we woke from a deep sleep to find Dan checking in on us. He observed that, as "city boys," we were given to sleeping much later than "country boys" like himself. When he was farming full time, he'd wake at four every morning, and he still wakes that early through learned habit. He lent us his bathroom key (easily obtainable by paying a small docking fee we'd somehow avoided, we later learned) and told us that he was planning on driving to Menard's, and that we were welcome to a lift. Having already discovered we lacked numerous items (Nick had no toothbrush, for instance) we jumped at his incredibly kind offer. I stuffed one of our 70+ Clif bars in my mouth and jumped in Dan's big truck while the other lads made breakfast.
At Menard's I marveled for a moment over the sight of the Home Lighting section, the intense excess of which I found oddly compelling. Then I filled my cart with necessities, including more oatmeal, zip ties (we use an astounding quantity; thanks again to Brandon of West Marine for this suggestion!), and the astounding deal of the day: a head lamp and jaggedy knife combo for a mere $19.99. Then Dan gave me a lift to the post office to mail some of Clement's postcards. Dan truly went above and beyond, which is why we've named this post for him. This was not even the end of Dan's kindness, but some other stuff happened in between.
I returned to find the lads scheming on several schemes, including coffee, mosquito net measurements, and our Thunder Mug. We spent a short while readying Cat-Sass for the first serious journey of our trip. We hoped to make it as far as a lock 12, about 30 nautical miles downriver. But when we shoved off and motored away from the dock, our motor sputtered and died. We tried to start it up again. No luck. Luckily (relatively speaking) the current wasn't too strong, so we handily paddled back to the pier. The marina's mechanic wouldn't be back until Monday, the following morning, so we resolved to continue our Cat-Sass-improvement projects, in particular the Thunder Mug.
Here follows a short How-To guide for an elegant and practical boat toilet.
1. Lay out the tools for the job.
2. Tape bucket lid to toilet seat.
3. Drill holes through seat and lid.
4. Try to countersink bolts with biggest drill bit. Oops! Your drill bit is smaller than the head of the bolt you're using.
5. Painstakingly whittle a larger hole using Nick's new jaggedy knife, and sand down for comfort. Insert and tighten bolts.
6. Cut a hole in bucket lid.
7. Adorn with fearsome pictogram related to name of boat.
8. Go crazy.
As I was finishing the toilet decal, Dan reappeared. He had found a mechanic who specializes in Johnson motors, the brand of our motor, which we've named Arvin. Dave, the mechanic, quickly ascertained that our trouble related to our spark plugs. He advised us on just how to fix it, and left with a cheery wave. What a guy. Thanks so much, Dave!
We'd like to note that we've already met numerous strangers who immediately went above and beyond to help us out. This has been a rewarding part of a trip that, so far, has involved few nautical miles but many new friends.
Speaking of, Dan dropped by again with some tortilla chips we'd asked for when he offered to pick us up anything we needed from a grocery store. When I asked what I owed him, he said not to worry about it. Dan is a hero.
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