We finally made the official end of the spring rush at most boat yards. Not to say there are not still deadlines we need to meet, but the marina looks pretty empty at this point. The jobs left have pretty long work orders and I don’t suspect any of them expected the complexity of the some of the jobs they needed done. In a few weeks we will probably be looking for new work but for now we are flush. We had one guy who called yesterday to get his boat for the weekend with just one job – get his outboard running. According to him “I should only need my battery charged”.  It turns out that the boat was not pumping water and may not have been doing so when he brought the boat in. We had to scramble to find a water pump kit on short notice. The boot stripe work continues. These pictures were actually from 2 days ago. I haven’t been back in that building since then. The got the bearing back in the Island Packet. We had to use a little more brute strength than normal because the bearing was not in the freezer over night and just didn’t get a full contraction. But that shaft does turn smoothly now! Anything Can Happen Friday   The History Of Memorial Day Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women’s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, “Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping” by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication “To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead” (Source: Duke University’s Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860’s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.  Read More Have a nice long weekend – and thanks to the owner of Miss Hattie who provided us with some beer to get a proper start for our long weekend.