The End of the Indolence
Grand Rapids, MI
June 27, 2019
Given the hypothermic water conditions a couple days ago, we decided to wait till yesterday to venture back in the lake. Since the temperature had been in the high 40s and is now in the upper 50s, holding off certainly made sense.
Then again, it was a bit like waiting for all the wedding guests to get out of earshot before telling your new bride she’s too big for her dress…still idiotic, just a bit less suicidal.
Fortunately, what the tide taketh when its waves recede, it giveth when they return. It devoured a few neighboring beach chairs on Wednesday, but regurgitated a kayak yesterday.
The oars were nowhere to be found, and are probably halfway to Milwaukee by now. David and I converted a couple branches that had washed ashore into makeshift paddles, and decided that riding atop the frigid lake was more appealing than diving back into it.
We rowed into the lake, and up and down its coast…drifting when possible, paddling when necessary. That hour with my son seemed to elapse in minutes, and will be remembered for years.
We left the kayak where we found it, so another person or wave can take it. We then joined Rita for a walk along the beach, and returned to the house to welcome Katy, Perry, and the Teales for drinks. Unlike going to the chilly lake, we had no qualms wading into those warm conversational waters.
Sustenance came from a few glasses of Canvasback wine, and a pizza from the Glenn Store. The company provided its own momentum, like an avalanche from a Colorado slope. And we all crashed when it was done.
Glenn, as Kipling said of San Francisco, has but one drawback: ‘tis hard to leave. Those who spend winter along the southwest Michigan coast might add a few more. But to those who spend bits of their summer here, the countryside has delights that only the city can understand.
We are now at the airport, and heading home…but our destination is uncertain. As the familiar quip has it, predictions are hazardous, especially when they involve the future. We know not where we will land.
I have laid the foundation of a couple start-up businesses, but have not erected the structure. In the coming weeks, I am speaking with organizations about potential opportunities. We can guess where things will lead, but our predictions are often wrong.
No surprise. After all, there are an infinite number of possible futures, and only one real one. So the odds are always against whatever prognostication we dare to make.
But we’ll take our chances, and see what the tide brings in.
JD
