j Other Side
I Of The Mountain
| , By F. Bryioo v |
Let me toll you about...the
last I heard of Susie. Those of
you who regularly read this
space know of Susie—a 28-foot
Ashing boat that 1 owned when
I Heed in Annapolis, Md.
I say that I owned Susie,
but there’s reason to doubt
that statement. You see, Susie
was the incarnation of Hendry
David Thoreau’s philosophy
that men’s possessions own
their owners. And Susie had
me trapped, fair and square.
Half of my spare time (and all
my spare cash) for two years
was spent Axing, painting,
cleaning, and adjusting her. For
my reward, Susie treated me to
Ashing trips that were as
adventurous as a casual stroll
across Siberia: I was never
positive of making it back
home.
For instance: There was the
time when I was out fishing at
night and all the lights on the
boat failed; or the time that
her dutch cremated itself. (Did
you ever try to dock a four-ton
boat that wouldn’t shift into 1
reverse?) Or the time that her <
shift mechanism broke into
three pieces. During the timi/l
owned Susie, I learned more
about making emergency
repairs with glue, wire and
small pieces of wood, than a
WWI airplane mechanic.
But the experience taught
me a lesson: To be a^
open-water seaman, you mpst
also be’ part plumber,
carpenter, electrician,
navigator, weather forecaster,
and wizard. When I lived in
Bryson City, it used to be a
cimple thing to drive down to
Fontana Lake, rent a boat,
mount your motor, and go off
in search of bass. One knew the
covers and wanderings of the
lake; no compass was
necessary. If a little motor
trouble slowed you up, wdl,
you ould always paddle to the
bank and wait for a passing
boat seamanship was not
really demanded on Fontana as
it was on the Chesapeake Bay.
During the time I owned
her, Susie proved to be both
laboratory and nemisis. I
experimented on her with
various paints, caulking, and
some exotic epoxy repair
solutions. And Susie, in return
for all the attention I gave her,
stalled, fizzled, sputtered, and
functioned only when she felt
like it—which was infrequently.
But when her mood
matched my own, Susie was
usually good for a few hours of
motoring on the bay—out to
the Thomas Point lighthouse,
or up to the Bay Bridge. It was
during these trips that
seamanship became important;
other boats had to be passed
carefully, overtaking signals
had to be sounded, and rules of
the road had to be observed.
By trial and error, I was able to
navigate the crowded waters
without someone threatening
to shoot me.
But all things—good ones,
bad ones, indifferent
ones—come to an end. After I
had owned Susie for two years,
I changed jobs and was forced
to move to a city where I
couldn’t keep the old boat. So,
Susie went up for sale again.
I gussied her up as much as I
Miss Bennett
Completes
Internship
Miss Olivia Ann Bennett was
among twelve young women to
complete an internship in
Dietetics at Duke University
Medical Center in Durham,
N.C. She was graduated on
August 27, 1970. Completion
of the internship qualifies Miss
Bennett as a registered dietitian
and member of the American
Dietetic Association.
Miss Bennett is a 1965
graduate of Swain County High
School and a 1969 graduate of
the University of North
Carolina where she received a
Bachelor of Science degree in
Home Economics with a
concentration in nutrition and
dietetics. She will remain on
the Dietetics Staff at Duke
Medical Center as a
Therapeutic Dietitian.
Miss Bennett is the daughter
of Mr. and Mis. P.R. Bennett,
Jr. of Bryson City and the
granddaughter of the late Dr.
P.R. Bennett, Sr.
Birth
Mr. and Mrs.
Lsster Bryson of Atlanta,
Georgia, announce the birth of
a daughter, Cynthia Ann, on
August 19, 1970. Mrs. Bryson
is furmu Betty I .litre! I of
IKfciMiev, M C.
could and placed her with a
dealer who handled old fishing
skows. But he took one look at
her and remarked, “Leave her
right where she lies. If you
bring her down to my Marina,
she’ll look so bad beside all the
other boats that well never
find a buyer.” So, Susie sat at
my pier for a few weeks, then
began to leak. And, nobody
wanted her. She was just too ,
ugly. /
Moving day cameand Susie
was still unsold. I left Jier in
the hands of my neighbor, and
he decided to run air ad in the
local newspaper. One person
responded. That evening, the
neighbor called me at my new
residence inOhio.
“I’ve' got somebody
interested in the boat. He said
that/he’d buy it if I could get it
nimiinff ”
/“Will she run?”
/ “I think so,” he said
without much confidence.
“OK. Sell her.”
The price paid for Susie was
a price that you might pay for
a scrapped boat, one that you
would rob for parts. I would
like to have been paid more,
but there was no other buyer
on the scene.
A few days after the sale, I
got a second call from my
ex-neighbor.
“Guess what?” he said. “I
got that old boat of yours
started, and that fellow who
bought it took it down the
South Rivr, and sunk it.”
There was silence on the
line for a minute.
“Just like that? It sunk” I
asked.
“yep. In shallow water. I
heard that it’s going to need a
whole new bottom.”
Well, Susie had introduced
herself to her new owner in the
same way that she had
introduced herself to me. But
this was her greatest indignity.
Sinking. Later, I heard that she
had been raised from the
bottom, and refitted to good
condition. I think that was a
mistake. Her new owner should
have done what I was tempted
to do so frequently: set her
adrift and burn her. After all,
isn’t that what you do to
witches .
Cherokee Contest
Winner Named
Big Y Community on the
Cherokee Reservation has been
declared the 1st place winner
in the Cherokee Reservation
1970 Roadside Improvement
Contest.
According to Junetta Pell,
Associate Home Ec. Extension
Agent, the Roadside judging
was completed on September 4
and Big Y will receive a cash
award of $50.00.
Other winners in the contest
were: Cherokee Community -
2nd award of $35.00 and
Bird town • 3rd winner of
$15.00.
Big Y will represent the
Cherokee Reservation in the
Area Roadside Improvement
Contest. The Western North
Carolina contest will be judged
during the week of September
14, and the winner will be
announced at the Area Steering
Committee meeting in late
September.
The Reservation Roadside
Improvement Contest is one of
the five contests sponsored by
the Cherokee Historical
Association.
Frel Owl Named
To White House
Aging Committee
Arthur S. Flemming has
been named Chairman of the
28-member National Advisory
Commmittee of “distinguished
older Americans” for the 1971
White House Conference on
Aging.
The Committee
appointments were made by
Secretary of Health, Education
and Welfare Elliot L.
Richardson and announced
today by John B. Martin,
Special Assistant to the
President for the Aging and
UJS. Commissioner on Aging.
Mr. Martin is Director of the
White House Conference.
Other members of the
advisory committee include
Frel Owl of Cherokee. Mr. Owl
is a retired teacher and is
Indian Reservation
Superintendent.
gge(k
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