Is 42 really the answer?

By Mike Jastrzebski

The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything, that is. The way I figure it, it’s as good an answer as any.

I’ve never read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but my wife Mary is a big fan. So much so that when we buy a lottery ticket and pick a number ourselves it has to have the number 42 in it. It’s also the standard answer I get from her when I tell her that something is on my mind and I’m not sure what to do. If I mention that I just don’t have an answer to what’s bothering me she assures me that the answer is 42.

I used to laugh at her answer, but after eighteen years of hearing the same answer over and over, I just raise my eyes to the sky and try to ignore her. Hell, if I had ten dollars for every time she’s spouted this answer I wouldn’t need to win the lottery.

So what’s the question that caused her to offer up her last 42? Why it’s the same question that’s been dogging me since I decided to take a short hiatus from this blog. Should we stay on the boat, or sell it and move onto land?

We’ve been considering buying a manufactured home in a 55 + community, renting a condo, buying a condo, and staying on the boat. When we got back from our last trip to the Bahamas this past summer we were determined to move into a 55 + community and get rid of the boat, but a strange thing happened as the summer flew by. We decided that we weren’t ready for a retirement community. After ten years of living on the boat we just aren’t ready to give up our seafaring life.

So we’re going to stay on the boat for another year, or two, or five. As soon as the weather cools off a little here in Florida, I’m going to go to work on the engine and see if I can put an end to the overheating problem that plagued us last spring. If not, I’ll hire a mechanic to take a look at it, and if that doesn’t clear up the problem we’re going to have the engine rebuilt.

So wish us luck and if all goes well look for Rough Draft in the Exumas next spring–or maybe we’ll head up the East Coast to the Chesapeake. After all, isn’t that what we love about cruising? We just pull out of the marina and turn to port or starboard and let the wind take us on our next adventure.

Share on Facebook