Doing My Part to Boost the Economy, I Buy a Kayak

I did my part over the weekend, spending $200 on a new kayak and saving the sales tax. It’s interesting how much the state can motivate people to patronize usually sleepy businesses on a summer sunday just by eliminating the sales tax. Some where I read that that this move generated $20 million in sales.. WOW.

I was looking for a kayak on Craig’s List and when i saw them at that magic $200 price point, I jumped too. No Sales Tax? YEAH! On Sunday I got dropped off to give the red 8-foot kayak a shake-down cruise. It was overcast and a few drops of rain pattered on the Deerfield River. The main thing I was concerned about was having enough water to actually keep moving.

Only in three places over four miles did I have to push with my paddle and then once get up and pull the boat over some rocks. As I drifted down that lovely river, with the sound of the interstate fading away, only birds swooping down and the rush of the trees in the wind were heard. I thought about what I had invested to get to this amazingly beautiful place. $223 for the kayak and $35 for a paddle. I think about other things you can do, and things you pay for. And for nothing, I was experiencing nature all alone, as if this was my own personal river.

In my reverie, I was relaxed, then the water began to churn. Up ahead a big tree lay across nearly the whole river. The current was fast, and just as I hit the tree the kayak turned sideways…you know where this is going. Into the drink I went, with my precious iPhone and my wallet taking dunks too. Ohmigod how am I gonna call my friend with my truck to come get me?

I figured this out by hiking to the shore at Deerfield Academy and some friendly tourists took pity and drove me back to town. With the iPhone resting in a bath of rice, I cross my fingers that it will come back to life. We fly tomorrow night to Oslo…with or without the phone.