The Name Game: WPC

“What kind of a man doesn’t name his boat?”

Amber Silvia

THE TINA MARIE

I have a special reason for selecting my opening capture. Tina Marie is actually my full name , and for most of my young life the only other Tina’s I came across were a friend’s collie and an elephant on the Ed Sullivan show. I hated my name and wished I’d been named Mary or Pat or Diane like the other girls in school. One day I asked my mom why she’d chosen my name and she told me she’d promised my grandmother she could name me – in fact she’d never much liked my name either. How sad is that???

So of course seeing an appropriately “aged” boat with my exact name was a special treat for me. Like my opening subject, I may show some wear and tear, but as the ad says, I too “take a lickin’ and keep on tickin'”!

THE “OTHER” TAJ-MAHAL

“That’s what sailing is, a dance, and your partner is the sea.”

Michael Morpurgo

My second capture goes on to show that perception is reality – or as the saying goes, one man’s palace is another man’s prison. Clearly one man’s Taj Mahal is another man’s nightmare. As I thought about this boat’s name it reminded me that how you feel about your life depends in large part on where you’ve come from.

HARD AT WORK

“We all came in on different ships, but we’re all in the same boat now”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

To children, it’s important to “fit in”, to be like everyone else. As we mature however, we learn it’s quite the opposite – it’s our individuality that makes us special. Further, those of us lucky enough to travel come to learn how much our environment influences who we are, what we think, and how we feel about where we are in our lives.

PRINCE OF WHALES

“Smell the sea and feel the sky, let your soul and spirit fly.”

Van Morrison

Boats come in all shapes and sizes, as do the people who own them, work on them and/or travel in them. Like personalized license plates, the names of boats often tell us a great deal about their owners. Clearly, the owner of the zodiac above gave some serious thought to its name, which is quite clever, while the owner of the boat below is perhaps a bit less creative. 😀

“A small boat that sails the river is better than a large ship that sinks in the sea.”

Matshona Dhilwayo

On the other hand, while “5” may not be much of a name, it’s beats having no name at all – like the forlorn nameless boat below. One can only hope a fresh paint job will include a new name prominently displayed in it’s rightful place. Being nameless, insignificant, anonymous – how many people are faced with such a fate today? Remember the Cheers theme song? We do indeed want to go where everybody knows our name.

NAMELESS

“Sail away from the safe harbor….Explore, Dream, Discover.”

Mark Twain

Big, small…working or pleasure….named or nameless, they’re all boats and each has its own personality and purpose. So too the melting pot of people who share our world, each contributing their own unique gifts. As our new year begins to unfold, let us recognize that each of us has something to offer and if we look beyond the surface there’s a good chance we might find hidden treasures within.