Kirstin's rough afternoon
My wife and I share one dangerous trait. When we get overheated or dehydrated, we lose the power of reason and our fine motor skills erode dramatically. Yesterday, Tom drank a bottle of water before shopping...........Kirstin did not (how's that for foreshadowing ?).
Anyway, upon arriving in Grenada we quickly dinghied over to Island Water World. I know it sounds like a theme park, but if you live on a boat in the Caribbean this is your Home Depot. Everything you need. Well, we needed some charts, spare parts for the bathroom, and some waterproofing chemicals for the Sunbrella canvas (hey, we have problems too, OK ?).
We leave the store, and Kirstin's overheating symptoms start to emerge. Instead of throwing our master-lock into the dinghy, she hits me in the hand. "Oh shit !!!! WTF ?........." OK, I'm bleeding, but it was an accident, right? Whatever.
Then, in the course of getting into our dinghy, the unthinkable happens. She loses a flip flop. Gasp. Kirstin doesn't like jewelry, knick-nacks, and a lot of the things women I've known surround themselves with. But she really likes those shoes. Luckily, this happened in 12 inches of water. Shoe rescued but we grounded the dinghy. I now can see that my wife needs a drink..........I head to a nearby restaurant.
As we walk in, we discover that the waterproofing chemicals have leaked out of the backpack and all over Kirstin. No big deal..........at least we thought as much. At dinner:
Kirstin- "My ass is burning"
Tom- "I know.......I mean, you exercise........keep it together.......you look great"
Kirstin- "No......I mean it's literally burning. Like on fire. I think the chemicals are burning me"
Tom- "Go to the bathroom and wipe it off"
She does this, but it's too late. Somehow, these chemicals reacted with the fabric in her skort (it's spelled correctly.......these cute skirts with spandex shorts built in - very useful for getting on and off a boat) and was burning her posterior. We ate quickly and raced back to the boat at top speed. Kirstin peeled off her clothes and ran across the boat naked to jump into the shower. Fortunately it was dark because the rest of the night she was sprawled across the cockpit with her burning butt (now bright red) in the air.
After a liter of aloe and probably that much wine, the pain subsided and Kirstin's bad day was over. Even with an afternoon featuring these hi-jinx, life in the Caribbean is good.
Anyway, upon arriving in Grenada we quickly dinghied over to Island Water World. I know it sounds like a theme park, but if you live on a boat in the Caribbean this is your Home Depot. Everything you need. Well, we needed some charts, spare parts for the bathroom, and some waterproofing chemicals for the Sunbrella canvas (hey, we have problems too, OK ?).
We leave the store, and Kirstin's overheating symptoms start to emerge. Instead of throwing our master-lock into the dinghy, she hits me in the hand. "Oh shit !!!! WTF ?........." OK, I'm bleeding, but it was an accident, right? Whatever.
Then, in the course of getting into our dinghy, the unthinkable happens. She loses a flip flop. Gasp. Kirstin doesn't like jewelry, knick-nacks, and a lot of the things women I've known surround themselves with. But she really likes those shoes. Luckily, this happened in 12 inches of water. Shoe rescued but we grounded the dinghy. I now can see that my wife needs a drink..........I head to a nearby restaurant.
As we walk in, we discover that the waterproofing chemicals have leaked out of the backpack and all over Kirstin. No big deal..........at least we thought as much. At dinner:
Kirstin- "My ass is burning"
Tom- "I know.......I mean, you exercise........keep it together.......you look great"
Kirstin- "No......I mean it's literally burning. Like on fire. I think the chemicals are burning me"
Tom- "Go to the bathroom and wipe it off"
She does this, but it's too late. Somehow, these chemicals reacted with the fabric in her skort (it's spelled correctly.......these cute skirts with spandex shorts built in - very useful for getting on and off a boat) and was burning her posterior. We ate quickly and raced back to the boat at top speed. Kirstin peeled off her clothes and ran across the boat naked to jump into the shower. Fortunately it was dark because the rest of the night she was sprawled across the cockpit with her burning butt (now bright red) in the air.
After a liter of aloe and probably that much wine, the pain subsided and Kirstin's bad day was over. Even with an afternoon featuring these hi-jinx, life in the Caribbean is good.