It's been a tough year. Since January, we've been stressing about Covid-19, the US government, elections, and family. I've been having such a hard time concentrating and I'm not the only one. People all over are reporting that their creativity has suffered this year. So many creative people -- musicians and artists in particular -- have no outlet and no income this year, so I shouldn't complain. We're reasonably comfortable in retirement, so at least we don't have that worry.
In the past couple of weeks, while the election results trickled in and Trump tried to stage a coup, I distracted myself by taking up my 'joy of sailing project'. Over the years, I had written many nature essays about things we'd seen and experienced while crossing oceans and living next to or on the sea. I have now collected all those essays and a few poems and I'm now editing them into a book with the working title 'Keeping Watch for Miracles'. The idea is that this is about more than sailing and perhaps nature will connect with more people.
I hope to publish it on Amazon and promote it if people think it's worth reading. Wish me luck. Here's a current list of chapters...
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction to Miracles 13
An Everyday Miracle 16
A Fish Up My Sleeve 22
My Favorite Time of Day 25
Asleep in the Cradle 29
Lightning Strikes a Chord 32
Coastal Rhythms 35
Whale Song 40
Elusive Pursuits 47
Barnacle Geese 53
Torpedo Warning 59
The Ship’s Voice 62
Star Light and Beyond 64
Fingers of Fog 67
Surviving the Reckoning 71
Quality of Light 73
Water Music 77
Searching for Treasure 81
Chance Encounters 85
The Shape of Water 90
Shooting Stars 94
Out to Sea 96
Winter Melancholy 103
Emotion on the Ocean 107
The Last Day 109
Fish that fly and birds that swim 112
Haiku 114
And the earth stood still 115
Toe the Line 118
About the Author 119
