River life

Somehow the clouds floating above the river seemed different, high up and fluffy - the way a kid draws clouds. The soft winter breeze gently ruffled my hair as Greg and I strolled leisurely beside the Noosa River with our family friend, Billy, visiting from Calfornia.  

Staring out over the iridescent blue water, the ripples bounced crystal rainbows onto my face. I smiled warmly at the peach glow of Jetty 17 and the helpful face of the owner Matt.  Suddenly California dreaming became a reality when our quiet walk turned into a party barge for 12.   A spontaneous decision to rent a BBQ pontoon for a few days of river cruising was exactly my kind of Dumb Blonde Adventure.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that, 

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”

Did that mean that everything around me was always changing including me? Could it be true that absolutely nothing ever stays the same? This was a lot to be grappling with as we cast off from the jetty and headed up the river.

I guess if you have to think about change there is no better place than on board a boat. Lulled into quiet contemplation by the whispering stands of eucalyptus on either side of the river bank, I pondered the difficulties in quantifying change over the long term.  Perhaps it is best measured by the slow shadow of time passing over a much-loved face. 


During a lifetime of friendship, my two skippers have been a barometer for each other.  While the world around their connection changed, their bond to each other and their mutual enjoyment of the water remained the same.  "There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." The Wind in the Willows.  

Bahamas

Whitsunday's

Regardless of what kind of vessel they are floating in, the same old sailing stories surface along with the shonky boats they've owned together over the years.  Their dodgy yacht deliveries across the high seas hailed back to a time when handheld sextants got you from A to B and GPS was code for "Got plenty snacks." 

Their story of seasickness off Morro Bay, California resurfaces as often as their descriptions of the tinned Dinty Moore Beef Stew vomit.  While the boats have definitely changed for the better, the seafaring memories remain constant in their minds.  Luckily for me, the quality of provisions on board has also improved drastically, these days the boys are tucking into Wagu steaks.

Heading upstream towards Makepeace Island, I realized that the river embodied the secrets of life. It bubbles up from the source with a spirit of divine discontent and a never ending momentum downstream.  In infancy the water is but a small creek, then, like a person, the river grows in size and deepens.  Like life, the river's rapids swirl and bring the twists and turns of change.  The river always seems to know where it's going.  But where was I headed? Merely further into Middle Age?

  

Noosa River mouth

Turning the boat around, we flowed back towards the river mouth. And all the while the river chattered on, "a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea." The Wind in the Willows.

  

Just as the river merged into the ocean and met its end our day of "River Life" was also drawing to a close.  Philosophically, I had to agree it was impossible to step twice in the same river because it's always in a perpetual state of liquid evolution. And seeing the passage of time over all of our faces surely proved that no one ever stays the same - boats come and go but wrinkles come and grow.  Yet, I wanted to believe that some things, like the essence of who we are, old friendships and cherished memories, can remain constant in our ever changing world.

Noosa, Australia