© 2004, Kim Davis This article originally appeared in the Extraordinary Jobs for Ordinary People online newsletter. For several years now, I’ve been writing about working aboard yachts for a living. I’ve explained how to get started, where to train, and where to look for work. However, I have not said much about the scary stuff….
News
What makes a “Weather Guy”?
An interview with Jim Kline of the National Weather Service originally published in the Employment Times, May 19, 2003 By Kim Davis © 2003 All of us who are involved with any aspect of the travel industry are deeply affected by the weather. As a marine biology student-come-sailor, a significant part of my education involved…
Christmas Winds
I’d met Paul in early November. I had dined with other catamaran crews, and stopped for a last beer on the way out through the quay-side bar packed with yachties. Over a terrible meal of “rotis” we cat crews had all told outrageous “puking punter stories,” puking punters being our overwhelming favorite topic of conversation.
Really Old
One of us is really old Crotchety and demanding Forgets she’s had her dinner And yells like she’s panhandling. Friends of every stripe despair Wishing her voice was sweeter But it’s no good complaining ’cause no one’s going to beat her! We grumble to ourselves And fill her bowl again She’ll do exactly what she…
Point of View Exercise
Part 1: Two Voices: Person #1 It was 5:59 a.m. as Larry made his way from the back storeroom up the big center aisle past the heaped sales tables to the glass doors. He could feel the tension in the air as the press of women bore down on the plate glass. He hoped it…
Third Person – Now in Past Tense, Then in Present Tense
She clicked a switch and the big electric organ hummed to life. She stuck her tongue out and moistened her lips and the rings on all of her fingers clinked as she positioned her long boney fingers over the keys.
The Catnip Wars
It’s come to it at last. Scuffles in broad daylight over the catnip patch. Fluffy Bum, who rarely ventures outside has discovered Miss Kitten’s well kept secret. There’s catnip in the vegetable bed. In hindsight, Miss Kitten’s been hiding her little habit very well. We just thought she was feeling good for her age. Little…
Writing for the Adventure Travel Market
by Kim Davis A freelance writer interested in adventure travel wrote me to ask: “Is there any room for professionals with these adventure jobs? Like you, I am a desktop publisher with an MA in Creative Writing and a BA in Technical Writing. Do these adventure jobs have openings for people who want to…
Immortals in the Fog
Why do people drive around in the fog with no headlights on? Do they think they are immortal? This morning we had to go through a thick fog on the way to school, which makes me nervous to begin with. I mean it’s one thing when I’m alone in the car, but when my children…
Stoplight Fright
Two super-sized vampires ran the red light Looking neither left nor right. Pointing pick-up trucks like spears, They raced before the dawn. Red gash lips on snow-white faces, They didn’t see us there. We daytimers waited and they went by. by Kim Davis