August 5: All Along the Watchtower
After we nailed, glued, and clamped the midsection of the deck, we started sanding our seats to prepare them for painting. Earlier this morning we stopped and bought some paint and I have a design in mind. While we were sanding, a car pulled into the driveway and 2 women got out and approached the house. We emerged from the darkness of the garage all covered in sawdust and in our grundge-wear - I think we may have startled them. Anyway, they were curious about what we were up to so we showed them the boat. They seemed appropriately impressed. One woman kept saying it gave her goosebumps - which is quite a feat on such a hot day. In fact, they asked if they could let their "boys" out of the car to see also. I think Mike and I both expected kids - we said sure, thinking she meant her children. Not that it made any difference but the "boys" were two full grown men with briefcases. I had already guessed that they were missionaries, out working the neighborhood on a warm Saturday morning.
Everyone introduced themselves and there were a lot of questions about the boat. It was funny, they assumed that Mike was the boat builder and I just sat around and admired him. Or maybe cleaned up after him. They asked what he does for a living but never asked me. Their comments and questions suggested a very lopsided relationship ("Oh, and what does he have you doing?" *wink wink nudge nudge* was followed by mild shock when Mike made it clear that we are equal partners on this thing) but as we stood and talked, they seemed to grasp that we were having a great time working together on our crazy boat and dreaming about our launch date when we put it into the water and cast both of our fates as one to the waves. They never identified what group they were from or asked us about our religious persuasion or delivered any sort of message or anything like that but, as they were leaving, one of the women came back and gave us a pamphlet as an afterthought: "You two probably don't really need this," she said as she handed me a Watchtower magazine on the topic of trying to find happiness as a married couple and as a family.
Mike and I have been grinning at each other ever since.
posted by TheNubbedOne and Otis at 2:21 PM
4 Comments:
Well, chalk another one up for you two: you stymied the Watchtower guys...congratulations. I love the wedding photo. Your boat building is 2-fold. Your teamwork is resullting in a beautiful wooden canoe and a kind of renewal of your vows at the same time. You're my role models! - Susan
Thanks to you two, we may never see these people again! They found the results of all their work and have retired to their 72 virgins or whatever their beliefs have waiting for them.
Way to go and thanks
bruce
So... is it bad if there's a voice inside me shouting with exuberant glee that you stumped the WatchTowers??? I can just picture Da's face as he describes the boatbuilding and how effortlessly he explains the work you have done together. I can picture mOM's delicate explanations of the physics involved in the project.
What's been so wonderous for me is the experience of watching my parents be so in love, and work in harmony... even when things totaly suck ass. ( omg i said ass in front of my parents!!! )
anyway.... it all makes me look forward even more to growin in to that eventual old fart I will become with Joel!
Thanks so much for letting us in on this part of your lives... did you ever think it would turn into something with so many levels? Or touch so many people in so positive a way?
Love you SO SO SOOOO much!
Of course you two have been smiling at each other all the time. You've inhaled so many fumes you both are permanently like wasted. You'll be paddling up stream, wondering whats up with the water gods' karma. What do you get when you cross a Jehovahs Witness with a Unitarian Universalist? You get a person that goes around knocking on doors for no apparent reason. It is great to see the Wedding Pic. It was the best wedding I've ever been to as a non participant. Does this labor of love have a name yet? Hope you have good boat finishing weather. Ya'll got the Karma.
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