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The day breaks warm and breezy, my laundry hasn't dried in the night. Having a water maker on board makes for a clean cook, and a good night's sleep. Sausage and eggs for breakie, the work and the sea make the crew and students hungry. The seas are gentle, the motion constant and soothing. A watch's daily report revealed that "rot in port" is down 88%. When I was asked to write about why I made this voyage a priority for me my gut response was, "Yes, of course!"
As a product of the 60's and a preacher's daughter, I grew up during the civil rights era. My Dad, Fr. Donald Nicholson (Anglican), took me with him in 1968 to Washington to participate in Resurrection City on the Mall. We lived in inner city Springfield, Mass., where we were one of the only white families for many blocks. I didn't mind, though some of the other kids did. Mostly, the trouble began because I was the minister's daughter. RFK and MLK were both assassinated while in Spfld and tensions ran high. The parish hall, next to which we lived, was burnt to the ground, our car was stolen and the plate window out front was broken. My mother wasn't well, my little brother was underfoot (I thought) and my cat was run over by a car; tough stuff for a kid. The good news is that we all lived, except the cat, and greater understanding has been one of my assets, hopefully. We also lived down in the Virgin Islands. I attended Catholic and public schools, finishing high school in Va. Beach in '76 and promptly going sailing for a year. We sailed, as a family, up and down the east coast and over to the Bahamas before I left home at age 17.
I traveled America driving for the next two years, putting about 50,000 miles on my old blue Ford pickup. My son, Wesley, was born in 1980 and after he entered school I began to settle down. In college I studied medical laboratory science and found that I'm a nerd at heart. In 1999, I moved to Canada to be with the one I love because my country of birth does not recognize our relationship. Heather and I just celebrated 11 years as a couple - this is our first anniversary apart, 'cuz I'm on board! But I love ship life; the organization and schedules just fits for me.
My journey to Amistad specifically began when I saw the movie and read in the NYTimes that the vessel was being built in Mystic. She visited Nova Scotia last year and I read about her in the local paper. When Amistad tied up in Halifax, I drove over to see her and say hello. I met Tracie and gave her some info on Micheal Jean, our Governor General - a black woman originally from Haiti and also Cherry Hill and Preston, some of the historic black communities nearby. I also told her that if she ever needed a good cook, to give me a ring. There's another piece to my story, and that's my grand-daughter, Audrey Ann. She is two years old and a brown child. Her daddy loved her so much that he placed her with a loving couple in Iowa so that she could grow up healthy and strong. I hope to meet my dear grand-daughter soon, but I'm off to sea right now. My Dad has spent time with her and that's a great blessing. She has extended family and so do I. Family is a nebulous concept for me, I have the genealogy my uncle did and it's very good, but it's cold and dead. My crew is alive and free, my love is alive and free, and I too, am alive and free.
The blood, the sweat and all the tears of years of grief and pain can be healed through action, patience, attention, conversation, affection, listening, movement, love and time. Let's give each other these things, in great quantities. Love to all my people. HK
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