Whalers & Shorts

In an earlier blog I admitted a certain affinity for a porpoise that hung out at the Miami Seaquarium and showed up on TV once a week during my childhood. If you are familiar with Flipper you may remember the image of Sandy and Bud bombing around in a small fiberglass skiff. The 13-foot Whaler on that show left a lasting mark with me. I had a bike. I had a skateboard. I had a football and a basketball, a really good pair of skates, too. But Sandy and Bud had their own 13-foot Whaler. Damn.

Bac...