Enough is Enough

[Marlene Anne Sassaman]

According to Dr. Vincent Ryan, a secret to life is knowing when Enough is Enough. Put to song, Barbara Streisand sings a bittersweet rendition of 'Have I Stayed to Long at the Fair?' And, so it is as I begin provisioning Spray for the next leg of her Sailing at Sixty adventure. Not as giddy and naive as when I left Palm Bay, Florida nearly one year ago, the fear of being alone has grown. I believe it was Tania Abei who reflected on her round the world adventure. The hardest part she said was leaving the folks she met along the way.

Everglades City has been my first stop. Each Wednesday the local ladies meet for breakfast. The librarian and postal clerk are a wealth of knowledge who always take the time for a neighborly 'hi, how ya doin?' Even the folks at the hardware store have a friendly face. The flora and fauna, the ibis and egrets, and the gators and airboats make this town a unique part of our wonderful world.

Heeding the advice of the respected world cruising guide's mentor, Jimmy Cornell, the weather window for heading south is upon us. To quell the fountain of tears and overwhelming sadness in my heart I adopted a more upbeat motivational song as the theme for my departure. Sung as only Harry Belafonte can, I wish I knew how to add it to this blog post. Til then, it is true, 'Done Laid Around This Old Town Too Long,,,,,'