Will always be known as...

A college friend of mine took a job in a small town in New England shortly after graduation. The culture was both fascinating and frustrating to him. One thing he noted was that a property would always be known by the name as its original owner. That is, the Newton place would always be the Newton place, regardless that Newton built it in the 18th century and it’s had numerous owners since.

I recalled this last night at our annual end-of-season party for kayak rollers. Beginning in the fall, we use an indoor pool to practice kayak technique, or that’s ostensibly the purpose. We mostly just love to get together and have a good time. The party after the last session caps off the fun.

As the festivities ensued at the party, so did the stories of good times and exchange of information. There was some discussion and questions pertaining to Henry’s (insert kayak model here). A relative newcomer to the group turned to me and said he thought the boat belonged to Dave. I told him it did, but I had been the original owner, at least in this group, and it had passed to a couple others before Dave. But, since I had introduced it to the progression, it was still attached to my name. That’s when the analogy to the Newton place occurred to me.

I explained that many of us had started out with various boats. But, some wanted to ratchet up to more capable and demanding craft. So, the original boats found their ways around the group, often to those entering the sport.

He equated that to hand-me-downs. Not quite. You usually don’t have much choice in that situation. Here, you do and the previous owners provide you with helpful assessments about the appropriateness of the boat for you.

I would also add that the change of boats isn’t always progress. There are almost always boats you regret selling.

The process provides a good and relatively economical way for those who want to find a proven performer and stick with it. And, a mechanism for those of us who enjoy the search for the Holy Grail.

The good boats seem to hang around the group forever. The dogs somehow drop out of sight.