In the grand scheme of things, .....I suppose this could be constrused as a brief romance, ....like two "ships" passing in the night.....
But when I laid eyes on that lady, ....it was love at first sight, ....so I bought her.....
Now, ......there was nothing fancy about my new girl, ....definitely not a high fashion statement, ...
She was more like a plain Jane, .....with big "gunwales", ....and your typical "wide" stern....
That was four years ago, .....and over time, ...we got to know each other, ...learned together, .....eventually developing a quiet confidence in each others abilities.....
We almost became inseparable, ......needless to say, ....the wife was none to pleased at this intrusion,
....but eventually came to accept, or at least tolerate her, 
......even up to the point of double dating on a couple of occasions.... The fairy tale ended last year when my baby needed a transplant to save her life, .....OHIP didn't cover it, ....so it pretty much drained me financially ......
Things appeared to be back to normal this year, ...and we tried to pick up where we left off.....
On the surface, ...everything appeared normal, .....but I still had this nagging doubt in the back of my mind,
....something wasn't quite right, .....little things were happening, .....and which in retrospect, .....I suppose I fell into the "Love is Blind" syndrome... When she had another major relapse this year, .....I knew the romance was over.......
Now, ....Back to Reality.......
I was sick of waiting for a call from the marina to find out what, ...if anything, .....would be done in regards to my motor situation, .......being a consignment sale, ...I wasn't overly optimistic anyways.....
So last weekend I pulled the trigger, ....and put my honey up for sale, ...sick motor and all.......
I was hoping to get maybe half of what I was listing it for, ....but four hours later I had three appointments to view it the next day, ....
And by 11:00 oclock that night, ....I had it sold with a $500 deposit in my hot little hands ....
But(and feeling cautiously cocky now), ....I insisted on the condition that if someone offered the full asking price the next day, ....the boat was theirs.....
Without getting into the details, .....the boat sold twice on saturday, ....everyone came away happy, ....and I got $100 more than the listed price.....
He wanted it the next weekend, and since it sold with virtually no accessories, .....that meant spending a fair bit of time after work all week, .....routing around her removing cables, holders and whatever else I had "dressed" her up with over the years......
I don't know if any of you guys that have sold boats before, ....experienced any sentimental attachments to their rides when it came time to part ways, .......but all week, ....when I'd find something, ....or I'd be taking something off, it would remind me of some past adventure, .....the memories were many, ....and mostly happy ...
I did a lot of chuckling this week, ....despite the damn cold.......
It was time to say that final good-bye, .....we had our private moments this morning, ......whispering while I was buttoning her down for the last time, .......taking probably a little more time with the straps, .....to make sure they fit just right......
A little slap on the stern for good luck......
Like any maturing beauty ....her "gunwales" may be drooping just a little bit more, ....her "sterns" no bigger, ...but she's proudly sporting a few more wrinkles there....
I hope she's happy in her new home, ....her new beau was fussing over her from the time he arrived, ....he had that love look in his eyes, .....so I think she'll be okay......
As for me, .....I kept trying to think of my new plain Jane, ....with even bigger "gunwales", ...and a wider "stern", ....but it didn't cut it right now, .....
....And then she was gone.........
skooter
