Excited by the prospect of getting a sound sailboat at a great prize, the young couple headed to Marathon. Meanwhile, back at Doug Black’s dock, the hustle and bustle of stocking Aleph Tav continued with increasing excitement. Then we got some wonderful news. Our oldest son Andre and his wife Kerah decided to join Aleph Tav’s crew and sail with us into Haiti. Lisa was delighted to no longer be the only girl on the vessel and I was very glad to have Andre’s help on the crew.
The loading continued. It is difficult to understand how Lisa was able to find a place for all the bags of food and supplies that kept coming, but somehow she did just that with a little room to spare.
Andre and Kara diligently prepared the V birth; their home for the next several months, and Noah arranged his video games and stowed his clothes away. Gabriel was thrilled to gather his things and head out to Captain’s vessel where he received an invitation as a crew member. We were close to our departure and we could feel it.
I ran to old man Mike’s metal shop to pick up the handrails he fabricated for our biminy. When I arrived, I found him staring at a small kitten lying on the dirt. I stepped out of the car, and his dogs greeted me as usual, while the numerous cats and chickens scattered in every direction.
“Is he ok?” I asked as I came close. “He’s dead!” Mumbled Mike. “I didn’t know he was on the back of the truck… I saw him roll down the street out of the rear view mirror.” Next to the lifeless creature was another kitten who lay there as if trying to comfort him. My heart broke. Old man Mike said: “You’ll need a boat cat.”
“Of course I will!” I replied without giving it much thought, so I picked out the scruffiest looking runt of the litter and named her Stow Away.
“Absolutely NOT!!!” Demanded Lisa as she fell in love with the sorry looking runt who would not leave the boat from that day on, except to a couple of vet trips.
“Captain, we can’t do it.” Came the couple’s frantic voice over the phone. “This guy is insane… He is living in some delusional commando wonder land and he’s gonna get us all killed!!!”
“Alright now…” Comforted the Captain “Y’all settle down now. Rambo Ray’s alright, you just need knowi’n him a bit more.”
“No way!!! This guy is not playing with a full deck. We are coming back right away!” Informed the couple as they hung up.
Moments later, Captain’s infamous rooster phone began coca-doodle-doing.
“Captain, the mission has been compromised. Psyops on the subjects revealed that they are unstable, delusional and psychotic… quite frankly, they are spoiled brat jerks! Avoid contact at all costs! Ray out!…”
To be continued