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MEMOIR
We Decided to Buy a Boat, and I Found Out Big Water Wasn’t the Real Danger
We weren’t as careful as we should have been
We’re careless with our lives in so many ways, you know. We jump on a sketchy roller coaster against our better judgment and then swear we won’t ever do such a foolish thing again if only we survive.
But of course, we do. What we want at the time so often overrides good judgment. And my husband and I wanted a boat.
While on a trip to our favorite city, Chicago, we decided it would be fun to buy a boat. We eagerly waited outside our downtown hotel to meet the salesman who would show us some boats for sale. My husband has spent his entire career sailing on big water, and he thought having a nice boat on Lake Michigan might be just what we needed.
It seemed like a great idea at the time — we must have lost our minds for a minute. We were newly married and crazy in love. We also had no sense, because boats are a colossal waste of money. And dangerous. But then, we ride motorcycles, so there’s that.
Everything fun is dangerous.
I did our initial shopping online and found two or three promising ones. I called a number listed for a broker.