like my accident, a death of someone close or just the right deal and your entire plan goes out the window. In my case there weren't a lot of people who did what I did so I pretty much knew that I could quit and come back if I didn't stay away more then three or four years. I was able to walk right back in and start work the next week after three years. There are always people who can do your job but I knew I had the fine tuning in this particular area that would be good for a while. That made the decision a lot easier. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have needed that extra safety blanket and the benefits I received from the trip far out weighed the risk of having to completely "start over". Once I reached that close to 50 age I probably would have thought a lot harder about it. Life happens and you deal with it as best you can but you can't live wrapped up in a safety net.

It only took me six boats to settle on the last one. I started out small and ended up small by the yardstick of the day but I find my 38 footer is just about right. I don't see another boat of any size in my future and haven't for the last 20 years or so. I was on the small end of the fleet in the 80's and I'm still on the small end. Go figure,

Here I am, rambling away with my knee in the air with nothing much to do but pontificate. Oh, happy days!