Lary Bloom
Writer, Editor, Teacher
The Bloom Blog
Photo by Nancy Dionne
Saturday, October 01, 2005
David Hays and The Sea
Last night, David Hays put out a big bowl of cold shrimp and hosted two dozen friends at the marina for a brief launch party. He was about to head from Chester, Connecticut, to Chesapeake Bay, where he'll spend much of the autumn and winter.He planned a much different journey than the one he and his son Daniel embarked on two decades ago aboard their tiny sailboat, Sparrow. That trip around Cape Horn was commemorated in their best-selling memoir, My Old Man and The Sea,. Now, David's home is a tiny houseboat he has restored and repainted -- featuring Van Goch-like images on the sides.
A small ceremony was held at the launch party. The rabbi of our congregation nailed a mezuzah and offered a blessing for a safe journey. Wine was poured. David's kitten inspected the guests. And there was talk around the dock about David's pluck, if tempered by concern. Last winter, he fell from the boat into the icy water and nearly drowned. He had to be rushed to the hospital, but recovered nicely.
At 75, David's achievements are many -- designer of about 50 Broadway plays and of New York City Ballet productions, founder of the National Theatre of the Deaf, and much more. But the achievements that resonate with friends are not the sort that can be listed in a customary bio. At a time of life when most people are hauling in their sails, he remains committed to adventure.
When I asked him why he was taking this journey alone, he shrugged. He can be a man of many words -- he can quote from memory dozens of poets. But on going off alone, on risking life and limb, on the whys of adventure, he answers mostly with his eyes. They say, "How else is there to look at life? Play it safe? Don't make me laugh."
Posted by:Lary Bloom at 8:25 AM
Web
Design by Arvid
Tomayko-Peters
Lary Bloom • Telephone: 860.526.2067 • Fax: 860.526.8088 • Email: