Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Living on a boat with Jane. And her shoes.

I must start by saying that I love Jane very much, and that living aboard with her is a real joy.  But there are compromises.  Compromises which I joyfully make, I might add.

Jane likes shoes.

A lot.

A recent count put the number of pairs of shoes she has onboard at somewhere north of 13, and that is only the Winter Collection.  There is also a Summer Collection, which is apparently languishing off somewhere in storage.

Now I can only speculate here, but apparently there are shoes for rainy days, shoes for sunny days (but only Tuesdays), shoes for shopping at Fred Meyer, shoes for shopping at Safeway.  There are shoes for black dresses, shoes for black pants, and shoes for black shorts.  There are shoes for brown clothing, shoes for red clothing.  I am uncertain if there are shoes for grey clothing.  And tho this is the Winter Collection, the other day when we had to walk down the dock to shore in 6" of slush, Jane had no shoes which were suitable.

On those few occasions when I have been unwise enough to broach the subject of stowage devoted to shoes, I have been reminded of the number of tools I have aboard.  This is when I pontificate on the need to be able to fix just about anything while underway, and the fact that a #1 Phillips screwdriver can in no way substitute for a #2 Phillips screwdriver.  Then I reflect that the collection of wires and hose ends occupying the stowage behind the dinette seating has real value - after all, it once got us into Everett.  Jane, on the other hand, feels that just about any tool-needing situation can be faced bravely with... a chopstick.  (I must admit that on one occasion, a chopstick was the perfect tool, tho I can't quite remember what that occasion was.)

And so after 40 years of marriage, there is compromise.  I do not (too often) draw attention to the size of Jane's abundant shoe collection, and she does not (too often) threaten to pitch my meager tool and spares collection over the side.

And we keep a supply of chopsticks aboard.
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16 comments:

Beka said...

you are a wise man to not broach the subject of the shoes, Bob....

DeBacle said...

Oh, this made me laugh out loud, especially this part: "And tho this is the Winter Collection, the other day when we had to walk down the dock to shore in 6" of slush, Jane had no shoes which were suitable." Hahaha!
I understand that predicament perfectly, of course, but can't expect you or Marty to.
Thank you for posting this. Now Marty can't complain if I want to keep a dozen or so pairs of shoes onboard. :)

The Ames Family said...

I'm not a shoe person myself, but I've heard they're viscious! No offense, but I'm pretty sure Jane could take you. Best to just leave the shoes alone ;)

Aaron and Nicole said...

Jane! You're not alone! I also have more shoes than Aaron deems necessary. And I'll admit that not all are perfectly suitable for our liveaboard lifestyle. In fact, when I'm wearing heels and it's a really low tide, I've been known to ask Aaron for a piggyback ride down the gangway. :)

-Nicole

Aaron and Nicole said...

Bob, I feel your pain.

-Aaron

Team Giddyup said...

I'm down to one pair of heels. It's tragic really.

Christy said...

Oh, this is the eternal liveaboard conflict; one revisited just last week at our place. The only answer is to take off for somewhere you'll only need flip-flops.

Robert Salnick said...

DeBacle:

(Sorry Marty...)

Robert Salnick said...

Beka & Becky -

Trust me, I stay away from the subject.

Robert Salnick said...

Christy -

How many pairs of flip-flops do you think would be in the Bahamas Collection?

Robert Salnick said...

Nicole & Aaron & Livia -

There are no heels in the Winter Collection, therefore I have not had the opportunity to give Jane a piggy back ride down the ramp, tho I would joyfully look forward to doing so.

sasch said...

This brightened my day!

Sue Ellen said...

This was an uplifting read. Thank you. In our case, my shoes look a lot like books. Don's tools do look like tools though, and he used to be shop foreman in a Chevy garage, and he is a journeyman diesel mechanic, so chopsticks will not do! haha!

Robert Salnick said...

Sue Ellen -

Well, ummm, yeah. Books. I guess that I am the one with the books on Eolian.

So I don't talk about books.

Kaci said...

13 is a low number!

Unknown said...

There's a reason shoes begin with sh!

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