The 50


As I learn to de-precious, I am discovering that some very small items can take up an enormous amount of space. This boat key is one of them. I found it in Dad’s shop after he died.

He had sold the boat years before so, this must have been a spare

I was around seven when he bought a speedboat with a 50 horsepower Mercury outboard motor. I remember when I asked him why he made a key chain with a cork, he tossed it into the water to demonstrate.

We went on day trips to random lakes in Eastern Ontario

It was one of those first lesson moments of insight. For me, it crystalized the importance of using situational awareness to plan. I’ve been (metaphorically) tying corks to keys ever since and it has served me well.

Dad mostly called the boat “the 50” or “the Merc” but I think it’s actual name was Tempest Tost

Thanks Dad, for that lesson. You were always prepared. Always cautious. Yet your grin was never bigger than when you bounced over the waves at full speed!

Mercury Marine

I will divide this item into it’s recyclable and landfill bits and in some ways, its absence will be enormous.


4 responses to “The 50”

Leave a Reply to Ursula Pflug Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *