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Working on
Plan B
9/28/02
Blaine Parks
The stock market plunged another 295 points yesterday.
The markets most recent decline came after two days of modest
gains, buoyed by hopes that Blue Chip stocks were on the rebound.
Apparently, that’s not the case.
This latest downturn reminded me how perfect our timing was for our
exit from Corporate America in 2000.
When Janet and I retired, the markets were at their highest levels
ever. Like Noah and his ark
we provisioned our boat, gathered up the animals, said our good-byes, and
left town before the rains came.
Noah was a luckier soul, however, since it only rained for forty
days and forty nights. In our
case, the stock market has been raining bad news for more than two years
-- with no end in sight. What
if the rains continue? Do we
need a “Plan B”?
What
would we do if our savings were washed away?
One possible answer came from David and Teresa Lee, aboard ‘Taking Paws’,
who said, “You could set up
a website asking people to send you money.
We read about a woman who paid off her entire credit card debt that
way”. I inquired further,
“You’re saying that some woman ran up her credit cards, got herself
into financial trouble, and was then bailed out by complete strangers? –
Through a website?” They
confirmed the story. I was
dumbstruck! But as the market
continued to plummet in the ensuing weeks, I couldn’t get the idea out
of my head. Could it really
work?
I
doubt it. I don’t see you
feeling sorry for the likes of us. After
all, we’re living what many would call a fairytale lifestyle, freed from
our previous corporate lives and now living as perpetual tourists aboard a
beautiful sailing yacht. Please
remind me of which fairytale included fixing smelly blocked toilets,
staying up all night to ensure that the anchor isn’t dragging, and
swallowing gallons of saltwater when huge waves crash over the bow during
offshore storms. I didn’t
read that one.
On
the other hand, I wouldn’t trade our current lifestyle for any other.
There’s an overwhelming sense of pride, self-reliance, and
accomplishment in what we’ve done.
Leaving the safety of our land-based lives to go sailing, we took a
leap of faith where others saw no place to jump.
The joy of simple things, like finding the boat right where we
anchored her the night before, surprised us in the first few months.
Over time, we built confidence in our skills, our boat, and our
relationship. That confidence
led to independence and our independence has led to a sense of freedom
unrivaled in our previous lives.
Which brings me back to the original question.
What would we do if that freedom were challenged by financial
constraints? Are you sure you
won’t send us money? I
guess not.
I
don’t want you to get the wrong impression.
We’re not on the doorstep of financial doom, but the stock
market’s performance isn’t bolstering our self-assurance.
Our great escape took years of planning, determination, and
sacrifice. So, it only makes
sense that we have a ‘Plan B’ in case ‘Plan A’ falls short.
We can’t imagine returning to our corporate lives.
We’ve considered running crewed-charters or starting a
dog-related business. But nothing really fit, until now. We’ve settled on a Plan B, but I can’t take
credit for the idea.
The
plan isn’t much different than the one previously outlined by ‘Taking
Paws’. It would require
some begging. It may mean
that I’d have to share my mistakes, in life and in cruising -- with
complete strangers. And once
again, I’d be taking a leap of faith where even I see no place to jump.
I’m thinking of writing a book.
The ‘B’ in our Plan B stands for ‘book’.
Are you still with me?
I
thought I lost you back there. I
know it sounds crazy; it took me by surprise, too.
It started two years ago when Wilson and Christine Dietrich,
strangers at the time, wrote to compliment Janet and I on our website.
They also own an Island Packet and heard about our website through
an Island Packet discussion group on the Internet.
They said they enjoyed my writing and suggested I write a book.
I thanked them for their blind enthusiasm and pointed out that I
never considered myself a writer and I was doing a poor job of imitating
one with our website. They
playfully disagreed and I locked that compliment away for the days when I
thought of giving up on the website.
Then along came Susan Sims.
Susan
Sims is the editor of Fido
Friendly magazine. I had
never heard of the magazine prior to her first email last December. She said she discovered our website and was fascinated by our
story, especially the part about sailing with two large golden retrievers.
In short, she asked us to write for her magazine.
There wasn’t much in the way of compensation, but I was intrigued
that an editor of any magazine thought my writing was suitable for print.
Our first article graced the pages of Fido Friendly in March of
2002. I’m currently working
on the fourth article for Susan and she’s asked us to continue writing
for the magazine indefinitely. On
June 24th, the day before my birthday, we were contacted by
another magazine -- this one was no stranger.
Greg
Jones, the new Senior Editor of Blue
Water Sailing magazine, had seen our website and sent us an email.
As with Susan, Greg was interested in our stories and asked us to
submit a few pieces for review. I
was speechless -- very rare for me -- and sure that I was now out of my
league. Greg encouraged me to
give it a shot and let him help mold my writing into articles suitable for
publishing. For weeks, I
struggled to compose articles worthy of publication.
Fido Friendly wanted stories about sailing with dogs.
I may have been new to sailing, but I know dogs!
What could I have to say that might interest the readers of a
magazine about blue water sailing?
You’ll have to wait and see, but Greg accepted two of my articles
for future publication. We
weren’t getting rich, but my confidence was growing.
I was blindsided again when Susan Sims asked me to contact Bob Vella, the
host of a nationwide radio show called Pet
Talk America. Apparently,
Bob had been following our writing in Fido Friendly and thought our story
would be appealing to his listening audience.
In my first call to Bob, I suggested that we weren’t that
interesting and expressed my concern over boring his audience.
Bob dismissed my objections and scheduled me for an hour on the
September 29th show. He
also asked if I had considered writing a book.
There was that idea again. I
said no, but with less conviction than when first confronted with the idea
two years ago. Maybe I did
want to write a book.
One
thing troubling me was the lack of my traditional support group – The
Naysayers. I have them to
thank for much of the success in my life.
Their constant nagging and pessimism has always fueled my desire to
prove them wrong. Where were
they now? Could I depend on
them to come through for me yet again?
So
far, I’ve only encountered positive support.
This is new territory for me.
Complete strangers like Wilson and Christine saw something in my
writing that interested them. Even
Susan Sims and Greg Jones, professionals in a field I know nothing about,
thought I might have something to offer their readers.
Family and friends have always offered words of encouragement.
I’d expect support from family.
Hell, my mom even loved me as an ugly child.
It’s the support from people like Gerry Catha – whom I barely
knew before he found our website – that is most surprising.
In fact, Gerry and another friend of ours, Hayden Cochran, both
swear that the majority of ‘hits’ on our website come from them. I’ve gotten to know both men better over the last two years
and they seem sane to me. I
can’t explain it. But where
are the naysayers? I can’t
do this without them.
Consider
this article an open letter to the public, my personal search for
naysayers. In years past,
I’ve barely had to propose a lofty idea before being surrounded by those
who thought it preposterous. I’ll admit that I’m probably not a good writer, but I
wasn’t a good sailor ten years ago either – now I sail full time.
I was a miserable juggler the first time I tried, my knees were
reduced to bloody stumps on my initial attempt at riding a unicycle, and I
could barely stand on roller skates before becoming the fastest speed
skater in my age group one year later.
Can you remember the first time you tried something new?
The point is that difficult things, like writing, can be learned.
I bought two books on the subject – both have “writing well”
in their titles. I don’t
know if those words will ever apply to my writing but I’m willing to
give it a try.
I
dreamed of retiring early and going sailing.
I did it before my 36th birthday.
I never dreamed of writing a book.
I’m not even sure where to begin.
Do I start with the dream and the sacrifices we made to get here?
Do I explain how the shame of a personal bankruptcy in my early
twenties taught me fiscal responsibility?
Or do I just jump into the subject of cruising with two large dogs?
Could I inspire others to chase their dreams by sharing my own?
Who knows what will become of the idea – our Plan B?
If it fails, you’ll find a future web page asking you to send
money to support a starving writer who started out as a sailor.
Remember to give generously! That
could be our ‘Plan C’.
In the meantime, drop me a note
to let me know how crazy this idea sounds.
I’m sure hundreds of naysayers are forming another support group
now that I’ve announced my intentions to the world.
I look forward to their inspiration.
I foresee an autographed copy of my book in their future.
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