by: Capt. Jim Kalvin
I miss the small-town feel of our waterfront of old. Of course, it may still be that way to the up-and-comers who are new to the area. After-all, to a person that comes from places like Miami, New York, or Chicago – which half of this city did – Naples probably still looks like “back-water USA”.
Maybe I miss all of the characters that I came up with, both young and old. A bunch of them have gone on to claim their post-Earthly reward. A bunch of them have retired and moved away, looking for that simple life-style that we used to enjoy in Naples. And, a bunch of them have just moved away – looking for that simple life-style that we used to enjoy in Naples. This last group hasn’t retired, they just decided to live and work elsewhere and they moved away from the traffic and the noise. However, working as a traveling Mariner over the years, I’ve come to realize that Naples is still a pretty special place.
Changing times mean that times are a-changin’ though. We used to run the coast and the mangroves on our family run-abouts and center consoles – looking for a good place to fish, water-ski, or camp out. We knew all of the law enforcement officers – and they knew our parents! So not only did we have to behave, we knew that help was only a radio call or a flare shot away.
The kids going through the waterways now in those floating juke-boxes disguised as wake-boarding boats will never know the feel of a summer sun-up fishing the backwaters with nothing but the sounds of your breathing and the rush of the water over the mangrove roots. Heck, you didn’t even have to be fishing. Just being there and watching the waterway start the day was special enough.
It seems as though a lot of folks on the water today don’t even know why they’re there. I know it’s fun to get “out” with friends, regardless of where you happen to go. But really…..when your
“boating clothes” are the same as your “golfing clothes”, something just doesn’t add up to me. If you can get off of your boat, and walk right in to a business meeting without having to take a shower or change your clothes, have you really been “boating”? Shucks, some of my old fishing shirts could write a Hemmingway novel if they could move on their own. Actually….there have been days that they did….but I digress.
How it ever became a “thing” to have televisions (with an “s” – as in more than one) aboard a boat – I must have missed that briefing – is beyond my comprehension. The last thing I want to do aboard is to do exactly what I could be doing at home. I leave home because I want to be outdoors.
And, yes, I know – we have to make sure that the wife has something to keep her occupied on the boat. That’s why I taught Ruthie how to throw a cast net! Bought her her own rod & reel as well. And those things are a lot cheaper than a flat-screen T.V.
When you’re on the water, turn off the T.V, shut the stereo off, turn off the air conditioner, open the isinglass panels, and breathe that salt air! Look around you and soak in the natural splendor of the Everglades and the 10,000 Islands. And….try to develop a hanger section of “boating clothes”. You know – something that your business associates might not recognize you in. Something comfortable, that you can get a little dirty. You’ll be surprised how comfortable that can be!
Experiencing the natural beauty of our fabulous and expansive coastline is what has kept me here all these years. Take that away, and the “season” here is just one large meandering parking lot, intersected by the lines outside the restaurants, with a bunch of golf courses!