Innocence of youth...

So last night I went to the local cinema to check out the "edge of your seat thrill ride" Fools Gold. I haven't been to the movies in a long time and being Friday night I figured I would treat myself to a flick instead of hitting a bar or club. The cruisers had a big party near the marina but there are plenty of those. Anyway, the movie started at 8:30 and I got there a little early. I wasn't sure what to expect price wise but so far most stuff here is very reasonable, sometimes very cheap. My ticket cost 8 dollars U.S. (20 EC) which is around two bucks cheaper than home but a medium coke and medium popcorn was 3 dollars U.S. total. So for 11 bucks I got to sip coke, munch some buttered up popcorn and stare at Kate Hudson for a couple of hours, not bad. Beats the hell out of 50 dollar outing a movie constitutes back in the states. By the way, save your money if you are planning on going to see this movie, I assure you Blockbuster will have it soon if they don't already back home. Of course, thanks to the premise of the movie I started wondering how much treasure is truly down at the bottom of this ocean I have been sailing across. The rich history here shows that countless millions was shipped through this area and judging by the number of shipwrecks I see marked on all the charts I'm sure several of it went down to Davy Jones. Maybe I should become a treasure hunter instead of a charter boat captain, hmmm...anyone interested?

I digress, back to the point of me writing this post. I walked back to the boatyard dinghy dock where I locked the dinghy up and as I arrived there were police and taxis everywhere. This is very unusual here. I have the boat anchored in a place called Prickly Bay and it is near where I will be hauling the boat out for paint and work. During the day, this area is a bustling hub of yachties and workers of all sorts but at night it pretty much goes dormant. There is small waterfront restaraunt called De Big Fish (which the dinghy dock is attached to) but it usually is quiet by about 10. Well I got back just before 11 and was asked to see my invitation by a freakishly huge policeman who reminded me of my friend Gigantor. I'm sure the stupid look on my face told him I had no idea what the hell he was talking about because he smiled and explained that it was "private party" tonight and I wouldn't be allowed in without an invite. So after explaining that I live on a boat and blah blah, he let me pass. As I got to the dock there was a table at the entrance of the place that had 4 girls that were obviously greeters of some sort. They had some sort of list and a bunch of name tags strewn about the table. Being the type that likes to be informed of any activities in my immediate vicinity, I asked what was going on. The casual up and down look I got let me know right away that my name wasn't making it on to that list. As I glanced around I noticed why. Everyone was dressed like rednecks. Serious. One of the girls was nice enough to explain to me that they were holding a "Hoe Down" (please insert your own funny joke at this point). The little hostess informed me that they were all affiliated with St George University (less than a mile away) and that they had private parties all the time with themes and costumes. I am pretty sure I could have talked my way into there if I wanted but I took the high road (or low, still unsure) and headed back out to the boat. I only mention this little episode because try and imagine a bunch of 18-24 year old kids from literally all over the world having a redneck themed party. Some of them had gone all out and really put together some hilarious outfits. They were really into it and the music was great, I could hear Garth Brooks and George Strait wafting out to the boat most of the night. I suppose the best irony of this is that back home it is rodeo weekend and I know a bunch of my friends are going to end up shithoused drunk in Old Town Clovis tonight. So have fun, the kids from St George paid tribute to all you cowfolk last night.

One more thing. Just want to say thanks a freaking lot to my Mom for the e-mail she sent me last night. With the Skype program I have been able to stay in touch with family and friends fairly regularly which is pretty cool and recently I have talked to my niece Brianna. Now for those that don't know, she and I are very close. We have had a connection ever since she was still an uninteresting blob wrapped in a blanket. Whenever I was around she wanted to be around me. She is four now, five in September and when I left it totally sucked saying bye to her. Anyway, the other day I talked to her and out of nowhere she said "Unca Shane, I love you SOOOO much and miss you SOOOO much" and it was like getting smacked in the nuts with a baseball bat in front of people, you know, you try and be tough but you know you are screwed any moment because you are gonna fall and your face is gonna start leaking heavily. My Sis and Mom are bringing the babies down to Curacao in June to see me so I'm super excited about that but there is still that tough part that I know I am missing those times in her life that are irreplaceable. Needless to say, bouts of homesickness and missing people is inherent in this lifestyle. I have talked to several cruisers who have all gone through similar things. I had a pretty good bout back in St Kitts but have been pretty solid since being rejuvenated by everyone's support through e-mails and comments. So last night I open my e-mail and find one from my Mom. Last night Brianna spent the night with her and my Mom asked Bri if she wanted to e-mail me. So of course Bri did and here is an excerpt from that mail, keep in mind as you read this is Brianna dictating to my Mom what she wants her to type to me...

"She says to tell you I miss my Unca Shane so much and I love him so much. I wish he would come home for me and I wish he was a fireman again and he would help the people. I know you miss me so I love you a lot. So you are on a sailboat away from us and we are your nieces and we love you so much. And Nay Nay is your mom. Shauna is your sister and they miss you so much and love you so much. I know you're a pirate and you give me good cards and you're looking for treasure. "

Mom, you suck. I damn near had to break out the bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label after reading that, I swear if I would have had a cowboy hat I would have gone to the hoe down to drown the image of a four year old saying that about my punk ass. What next? Maybe Griff can e-mail me with a bunch of stuff about how much my dog Drake misses me and include pictures of him with that pathetic look he perfected. So thanks Mom but your attempts to drive your son to the bottle will not work. Just make sure you all make it to Curacao.