Man on a Boat

 

"You may think that the equation is 'boat and water.' It's not. It's 'money and boat.' The water is not really necessary. That's why you see so many boats in backyards."

E.Annie Proux - The Shipping News 




                                        Man on a Boat, oil on masonite, 26.5" x 17", Steven Rhude


My first memory of being on a boat was as a four year old. My aunt and uncle were on their way to view a cottage on an island in the Kawartha Lakes in Ontario. The day was cold and overcast as I hid under the bow of a open cedar strip smacking along choppy waters. I didn't escape my wooden prison until we pulled into a boathouse smelling of engine fuel and moldy jackets. The cottage was acquired and later in the summer my image of the boat changed after being woken from my bunk at midnight to a full moon, and then to be blanketed and paddled around a lake as smooth as glass in order to take in the haunting shrill call of a Loon.

Now my memory of the boat is of a floating community, a monolith travelling to Argentia with a city's contents of product, commerce, tourists, and locals returning to their heartland. It has a fog horn that wakes me through the night, a soothing, comforting sound to me that is somewhat human at times; linking me in anticipation of the Avalon.


Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS         


     

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