The Time I Lost Everything, Including My Writing
Fifteen or so years ago I did a five month cruise on sail boats in the South Pacific. While in the Kingdom of Tonga I did considerable writing, by hand, about my trip and computer consulting there and about several other things that were the result of my trip so far. The writing was all collected in an 8-1/2 by 11 inch spiral bound notebook with multiple sections.
About three months into my trip, I joined a boat to sail from Vavau to Fiji. The second night we were out, we ran the boat up onto a reef. (Yes, Ive told and sold that story multiple times, but it was long enough ago there are no web links.)
One of the results was I lost almost all my stuff and all of my writing. I thought about this today as I was listening to reports from escapees (is that a better term than refugees?) from Hurricane Katrina. I remember how disoriented I was by the loss of my things. When I got back to Fiji, people gave me clothes and more than once I went through them, trying to make them mine.
Perhaps the oddest experience was going to a store to buy paper so I could begin writing again. Fiji gets most of its products from Australia and New Zealand where they use A4 sized paper. Its a bit longer and leaner (8.3×11.7″) than the 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper Im so used to. It feels much more different than the measurements indicate. They also didnt have spiral notebooks. Instead they had stapled notebooks with a pale green cover around white lined paper. In my confusion it just seemed all wrong. So wrong in fact, I didnt buy any until the next day!
Of course, it worked out just fine; paper is paper after all. But I still so clearly remember how odd it felt. And I had a home to return to. What the escapees must feel like I cant truly imagine.
Write well and often,
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POSTED IN: Musings From A Freelance Writer
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