A few quick notes about my vacation

Long marriages

Sitting around the table at dinner last night I realized we were an oddity: Five guys all still married to our first wife.

We had a sixth who had to beg-off because his wife was in the hospital. She was also his first wife.

(1/2)^6 = 1/64 = about 1.6% chance for a random group of 64-year-old people to still be married to their one-and-only. That implies that maybe the group of people was not random.

Our host married when he was 29. He met his wife when he did her taxes.

The person sitting next to him married when he was 36. He met his wife when they were doing Karaoke. She was a little bit country and he was a little bit rock-and-roll.

The person next to him met his wife when they worked at the same place. He was 27 when they married.

The person next to him met his wife because they went to the same mega-dorm at college and they both worked the front-desk to stretch their dollars. He was 24 when they married.

Our absent companion met his wife at work. He was over 30 when he married.

I met my wife at a dance. I hate dancing but it was a target-rich environment. I was 27.

Venue

We sallied forth out of Bay City, Michigan upon the broad shoulders of the Saginaw river.

We were boarded and inspected by the Coast Guards. "Yes officer, here is my driver's license and registration (in a ziplock baggy)."

We had been prepped on the location of the Personal Flotation Devices (six each beneath port and starboard, bow seats). The skipper was asked about the throwable flotation ring. It was produced. Fire extinguisher? Check.

The most humorous part of the safety check is that we were heading up-river and there was a twenty-four foot big-water boat heading downriver as it approached us. It was listing between four and five degrees to their starboard. I helpfully pointed that out to the Coasties and as they looked the big-water boat started to swerve.

The head Coastie hailed the vessel's captain "Do you know you are listing severely to your starboard? Are you taking on water?"

The captain yelled back, "My party is all on that side of the boat. We are fine."

As we passed we saw a very, very large woman near the stern of the vessel and she shifted from the starboard side to the passageway beside the cabin on their port side. The wide-beamed, tall, 24 foot power-boat took a 5 degree tilt to the port as she (the passenger, not the vessel) lumbered forward.

The listing was very notable because of the exceptional height of the vessel. The top deck was probably 6' above water level and then there was a bridge and on top of that was a sunning deck with a rail and an antenna mast.

I commented "That has to be embarrassing!"

The Coastie shushed me. "Sound travels really well over water. He might have heard that and he could report us to the station...thinking WE said that!"

I apologized.

Our captain aced the inspection (flipping his running lights on/off and tooting the horn) and the Coast Guard gave him a chit that he could show the next time he was stopped for a random inspection. If it was less than a year then he could show them his "Pass go, collect $200".

It pays to prep your fearless crew.