{"id":4285,"date":"2024-01-15T17:51:08","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T22:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/?p=4285"},"modified":"2024-01-16T20:38:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T01:38:55","slug":"a-life-on-the-buffeting-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/2024\/01\/15\/a-life-on-the-buffeting-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"A Life on the Buffeting Seas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Heavy Seas – Eric Kilby<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There is no Frigate like one\u2019s Life
Whose winds fill up our sails,
Nor any Detour like the Strife
Of AIDS and other\u2019s AILS \u2013
Such events can change our tack,
Oft\u2019 cause our boats to luff,
Yet, still surprising is that puff
That takes us quite aback\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

(The above is penned with the sincerest apologies to Emily Dickinson)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things naval and sailing have always been part of my life; consequently, sailing seems an apt metaphor, as my experiences are strongly intertwined with unexpected life events impacting my navigation. After taking my Bachelor\u2019s degree in the Humanities, I chose a large city with bright lights as my home. Though unsure what career to pursue, it quickly became clear that there were social exigencies that needed tending. I joined the forces combating the 90\u2019s AIDS pandemic and fought in both establishment and anti-establishment organizations to help ameliorate the crisis our society was facing. I found an outlet for frustration by joining ACT UP, a practical but slow-going remedy by engaging in grassroots party politics, and to answer the call to Tikkun Olam, I started an AIDS care-giving team at my synagogue. About the time things began to look more hopeful in the Pandemic, I decided to pursue graduate studies in social work and began working in the mental health field at a major university. But in my last year of studies, my father experienced a major health event. I put my goals on hold and moved, so that I could provide care. My parents had retired to a remote hobby farm in the rural south. I was sure my intellectual life had come to an end. I found a job working as a policy analyst for a state child welfare agency and discovered a library system with amazingly intellectually stimulating programing. After my father\u2019s death, my earlier pursuits seemed to belong to another place and time. Indeed, they had been a destined port for a different sailor than the one I currently was. So, I treated myself to nearly three years of utter joy by pursuing an advanced degree in English. Next, I \u201cadjuncted\u201d around a while, then taught on the Navajo Reservation. Finally, profoundly missing the hobby of sailing, I accepted a teaching job near the Florida Gulf Coast. Because library programming made an impact on the quality of my life, I am interested in helping create (electronic and other) programming for a public library, so here I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the Winter Break I wandered into a used-book store and happily discovered the complete set of Patrick O\u2019Brian\u2019s books, Master and Commander<\/em>, which tell about the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. These are not just adventure- or action-packed, but exceedingly literate; they read closer to Jane Austen in style than other texts belonging to the adventure genre. As such, they combine two of my favorite passions in life: great literature and sailing. If you are unfamiliar with them, read up about them on the publisher\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/wwnorton.com\/books\/master-and-commander\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I need a taste of the real thing, I go to the Clearwater Sailing Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/ccsc1001.clubexpress.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

and rent a Sunfish. These little boats are very light and fast; this often makes for very wet sailing, as they are more than easy to capsize.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Soaking wet after capsizing<\/strong>!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is no Frigate like one\u2019s LifeWhose winds fill up our sails,Nor any Detour like the StrifeOf AIDS and other\u2019s AILS \u2013Such events can change our tack,Oft\u2019 cause our boats to luff,Yet, still surprising is that puffThat takes us quite...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-4285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-student","tag-intros"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4285"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4605,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285\/revisions\/4605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}