Messing About in Boats

My brother, Winesap, and his family (Wildberry and crew) have moved to the north forty of Idaho.  (Living in Utah finally became unbearable...)

For his birthday Winesap went for sailing lessons on lake Pend'Oreille (no spell check - relying on high school french here...)

Anyway, Granny Smith has been sick today so I've been reading to him out of, "The Wind in the Willows" and we came across this wonderful passage that Winesap should be able to relate to:

"This has been a wonderful day!"  said he, as the Rat shoved off and took to the sculls again.  "do you know, I've never been in a boat before in all my life."

"What?" cried the Rat, open-mouthed.  "Never been in a - you never - well, I - what have you been doing then?"

"Is it so nice as all that?" asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to believe it as he leant back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars, the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly under him.

"Nice?  It's the only thing." said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke.  "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.  Simply messing."  he went on dreamily: "messing-about-in-boats"...

"In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter.  Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it.  Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always somethings else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not.  Look here!  If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together, and have a long day of it?"

I know I can certainly relate to it, and think I would make a grand crew member should I ever make it up North.

Carry On!