Skilled or Unskilled Labor

We all know, whether it’s a house, a car or a boat, day-to-day cleaning and maintenance are as important as bigger maintenance issues and upgrades.  If I had any doubt about my abilities in this area before, it became quite clear to me after I reviewed the to-do list that Jason so diligently put together.  While he is skilled labor, I am decidedly unskilled and have been assigned such tasks as cleaning the rigging, scraping the teak on deck and cleaning the barbeque. 

It is now that I am grateful that he adamantly objected to some of my early dream boats, all of which were externally covered in extensive amounts of teak.  With a huge smile and a gleam in my eye, I would say, “Honey, look at this one! It’s perfect.”  He would say, “No, it has teak decks, too much work.”  He’s a great woodworker, so I just thought he was being lazy.  After all, when you’re cruising, I’m sure there’s plenty of time to do a little woodwork.  But, now that I know I’m the one assigned to woodwork, I’m more than a little thankful.  And whether or not it was his intention, he has given me more time for tanning and reading!  After the current round of teak scraping and cleaning are done, of course.

Don't be condescending to unskilled labor. Try it for a half a day first.
Brooks Atkinson