I got the phone call from the Rockland shop on Thursday after our return. The proprietor told me that, though the cost of the bird was $100, the charge for packing the bird would $75, and the shipping cost would be $95. These were the prices given him by the shipping company. I told him that was too much. The artist, a disabled veteran, would be getting barely a third of the total cost for his efforts. The proprietor said, “We have family in Seattle. The next time we’re out there, we’ll bring the bird with us.” That sounded good to me.
Just before Christmas, I got an email from Sharon. Kathleen had returned to New York City after her respite. I think about her every now and then, wondering how the city is treating her now.
It has been four months since we returned from our trip to Vermont and Maine. I read this weekend that the temperature in these places is below zero this week. I remember Captain Linda telling about a year when the weather was so cold in Rockland that ships froze in the harbor ice. I hope the schooner Heritage is out of the water.
As we consider our next autumn trip, another cruise is very tempting. It would be a quick flight to Boston, a drive up the coast, and a walk down the gangplank. Sounds like an easy trip to us.
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