How about having Extreme Writing Now delivered to your email box? Input your e-mail address below! This list is private and we won't spam you. This is my entry for the memoir prompt about itching.
Itching for me is sore subject, because I itch constantly. My skin is not happy. I have tried to find out why, but no one has any concrete answers about why it does or how stop it. I have been diagnosed with everything from Lupus, to allergic reactions to dust mites, to sun poisoning and everything in between.
This is something I have learned to live with and is more of an inconvenience than anything. After years of dealing with it I have come to the conclusion that no one thing will work when it comes to making it stop. So, when I am having an itching spell I just keep trying different “cures” until I put the fire out. Sometimes it works, sometimes it just dulls it, enough to go to sleep.
But, let me tell a story about an itch you cannot put out.
Many years ago when I met Les, that’s my ex-husband, we decided to move to the Houston area and live on a boat. I did not anything know anything about boats. A couple of my uncles had fishing boats, but that was not my family’s cup of tea. So for a young country girl, this was very exciting. We jumped in the car and drove to the coast and found us boat.
It was perfect. A sleek, fast, little 23 foot Ranger sailboat. Wow, I had never been on sailboat. It had room for a very small galley area, and the bow was designed for two people to sleep. On each side was a settee and a small table that folded against the wall and dropped down.
This little boat had been for sale for awhile, so it needed some TLC. We began cleaning and scrubbing the mildew, doing minor repairs, and painting the interior to make it livable. After, a few weeks we have this thing sparkling. Above the waterline! Now comes the fun part.
Les called Captain Wick, who owned the local boat yard and made arrangements to have the boat out hauled to clean the bottom. The day came and we took the boat over and had it pulled out of the water.
It was hauled up on the shore with a specially designed crane and put on stands. There was one other sailboat in the yard, but the rest of the boats were big, huge shrimp boats. Our little boat was like a gopher mound surrounded by the rocky mountains. No worries, Les knew what he was doing.
You have never “lived” until you scrape the dead, dying and living barnacles from the bottom of a boat. The smell is something that I just cannot describe, and let me tell you, there were a bunch them. After being cut, sliced and over come by the aroma we got down to the hull.
All the time the work continued around us. Guys busy with scrapers, sanders, and grinders busily getting their boats in shape. There was a light breeze blowing and dust was flying all around. Les and I put on our gear to being sanding the bottom, long sleeve shirts, pants and dust masks. Les said this was necessary because we did not want to get the fiberglass on us. After working non stop from the time we got there until dark I was ready for bed. We climbed the ladder and went in to eat a sandwich and lay down.
Ahhh. Thank goodness that was over for the day. While eating I noticed the slight tingling of an itch, but by this time I was exhausted and really didn’t pay any attention to it. We ate and talked for a few minutes and climbed into bed. We were young then and so was love, so we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other.
I don’t think I need to explain this any further.
But! Let me tell you, this was a lesson in life. NEVER roll around naked in a boat yard! All that dust and fiberglass that come off those big, huge shrimp boats went into our boat. Holy shit! There were fiberglass splinters where fiberglass splinters were never meant to be. Everywhere! Talk about ruining the moment.
I have never itched so bad in my life. Burning, itching, cussing we were now out of the bed and scratching.
We couldn’t get away from it. It was everywhere. There were no shower facilities so jumping in the shower was out. We did find a water hose and tried to wash it off best we could, but that offered no real relief. The only way fiberglass stops itching is to wear off. I don’t think either one of us slept a wink that night. When the sun came up we were out there finishing the bottom. Les wanted to make it perfect, but I just wanted it to be over. One of the guys that was working on the big boats saw my discomfort and offered his advice to help. His advice was to take a cool shower and scrub down. Never up. Don’t scrub back and forth. Only down, so it would pull some of the fiberglass out.
We got the boat finished that evening and the next morning we headed back to the marina. Yes, we have to sleep another night in the boat yard. But, this time we went to bed fully dressed and itching. Not much sleep that night either, but when your body is exhausted you can catch a few winks.
When we got back to the marina and the first place I headed was the shower.
Now, if I even smell fiberglass I scramble to find the upwind side. That is one thing I would NEVER want to go through again.
© 2010, kimsworld. All rights reserved.
Captain Wick’s Boatyard Blues http://goo.gl/fb/CzZGh #memoirs #barnacles #itch #memoirs
Kim, first of all, I love your title. You have great stories and you tell them well. I think it shows how adventurous you are. And I will never forget this life lesson – “NEVER roll around naked in a boat yard!”
Thank you, Kim. You are always so kind. Les and I had a lot of fun, in a weird sorta way. I tried other phases, but that one really sums it up!
Well, there is a dream of mine all shot to hell. I’ve always wanted to roll around naked in a boat yard, but after your sage advice I believe I’ll just check that one off.
You poor thing! It does sound mighty uncomfortable.