Max Ebb: The Dollar Value of Fun
I remember very little of the reading assignments I was given in high school. Mostly I relied on CliffsNotes, and spent my time on more important pursuits. But one line from one bit of required reading stood out: “She believed that God liked people in sailboats much better than He liked people in motorboats.” It’s from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle. In Chapter 3. And even though the sentiment is attributed to a less-than-credible minor character in the book, through all the years that have passed since I first read that line, I’ve believed it to be true, regardless of the metaphysical plane on which it could be applied.
Now we have hard proof, if a rigorous assessment by the National Forest Service is a valid substitute for the referenced deity.
This year it was the Straw Bale Classroom at the Marine Ecology Center, down at the marina park, a short walk from my yacht club. Hardly an exotic venue for me, but it seemed to play well with the rest of the staff. It was also near Lee Helm’s usual windsurfing launch site, and I had suggested that it would most assuredly be crashable by a few stray college sailors with “starving student” credentials.
“Like, thanks for bringing your party to us this year!” Lee exclaimed as she filled her plate with cracked crab legs.
“It’s not exactly an exotic venue for either of us,” I acknowledged, “since we’re both here almost every weekend. On the other hand, the straw bale construction of the Marine Ecology Center is of interest to the engineers present, and they even arranged for the city engineer to give a short talk about straw bales as a structural material.”
“Cool,” she answered. “But like, I might have to duck out on the talk. I’m signed up to give free sailboat rides at the University Sailing Club’s Open House event.”
“The dragon boat team is also giving rides today,” I noted. “Saw them from the other side of the harbor, which is where I had to go just to find a parking space.”
“For sure,” Lee said. “They don’t have to wait for the wind to come up. Last year they got an early start and gave free rides and team tryouts to almost a thousand people by the time the sun was going down.”
“I wonder where they all park,” I said. “The marina fills up to capacity and then some on nice weekend days in the summer. Even my boat berther’s parking pass didn’t get me a spot near the party.”
“I come by bike,” Lee reminded me.
It was hard for Lee to blend in, since she was already suited up for action in her wetsuit. But no one seemed to object to her freeloading.