No Ride Today Because I'm on a Boat

My dad is in town so it's hard to stick to my own plans. I kind of forgot it was Father's Day weekend, so I should do what he wants to do. He brought his new boat into town. I didn't even know he bought a boat.

We had a red and white boat when I was a kid. My dad stored it in his brother's garage one year. One day my cousin and his friends were smoking cigarettes in the garage and left a burning cigarette in a chair. The entire garage burned down, including our boat. So this was really cool to be able to ride in a boat with my dad again.

When I was 4 years old, I remember steering the boat myself, taking us all the way from the Erie Canal to Strawberry Island. My dad insisted that anyone who drove the boat must have a sip of beer first, so I would take one sip of his Genny Cream Ale. Strawberry Island isn't as easy to access anymore. They still make Genny Cream Ale. I had a Labatt Blue Light this time, but after I was done steering the boat.

We picked up my sister and brother-in-law. They used to take me out on their boat, but they haven't put it in the water the last couple of years. We picked up a case of that Labatt Blue Light when they got on the boat.

We took it to Grass Island, not so much an actual island but rather just a shallow area of the Niagara River. I volunteered to jump in and pull the boat in. It wasn't as shallow as I thought. I went right under. At least I didn't lose my glasses.

Being out here with my dad had me thinking a lot about my choice to quit my job and focus on enjoying life, at least for this summer. He's been retired for awhile now. He worked and can now afford a boat. But he is not really in shape enough to even go out on it alone anymore. His back hurts. He's had multiple heart surgeries. Should I have to wait so long to finally enjoy life? I am spending the day on a boat now. I guess I could be spending 5 days a week in an office with more money, but I'd be miserable at least 40 hours a week. It's not like I don't work or make any money. I just am not going to put off living life until I'm too old to enjoy it. Any of us can die any day, no matter our age. I want to at least die happy.