#3 There once was a man from Nantucket . . .

You can't help but see him, standing there on the docks in the morning mist looking out over the sea. The old well-worn oilskin slicker, the rough knitted hat pulled down tight over greying unruly hair. His stance, proud and tall, with his legs slightly spread and bent at the knee, awaiting the pitch of the deck in a mid-summer squall.

His face, weathered from the sun and salted sea, belies what age he may truly be. Whisps of smoke from the hand-carved, curve stemmed, pipe (found at some exotic port-of-call no doubt) dance across his short snow-white beard.

In his eyes, bluer than the waters across which he sailed, is the sparkle of a well-lived life and the wisdom it held. It was almost palatable, that feeling you got, of things seen and done, lessons learned and never forgot.

If you asked him why he was there this wet and blustery day, he would smile, put up the pipe and say:

"I am but a guide. Here to look over the sailors and the ships that they ride.

These men and women - and the challenges they face - will shape their own future at some time and place.

Everyone will find a time they may fail, need a hand to find smoother waters to sail.

I am here, just a question away, to help them stand true on just such a day.

There will come a time, even for you, when the greatest achievement is helping another come trough.

Knowledge is earned, meant to be shared. From your own troubles, others may be spared.

So I come here each morning to thank God for his kindness and grace, hoping to help some else find their time and place."

As he pulls out his pipe and turns to walk away, you are left trying to think of just what to say. Was this simply a meeting of chance, nothing more than mere happenstance? Or was there something much deeper, a lesson to be learned, but you don't know it? And why are your thoughts now sounding like a poet?

Then, out of the mist, you hear laughter and a voice calls out "Or it could be that I own all these ships now, and my office is non-smoking!"

Strange guy, this man from Nantucket!

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Ok, this is my third post, and if you have read the last two, you may be thinking I should seek serious mental evaluation!

But I want to ask you this . . . in your mind, could you 'see' the old sailor? His clothing, almost smell the aroma of his pipe?

Was there a time, when reading, where you thought "Is there something to be learned here about helping others here"?

I have struggled to try to find where I might 'fit' in the scheme of things here at Steemit these past 6+ months. I kept looking at what others were doing and trying to see how I could 'model' what I say to, basically, stay in line with everyone else. Frankly . . . I sucked at it!

So, here I am, hat in hand (and a post longer than my dissertation!) placing myself into the fray. But I will be ME, the guy who 'breaks the rules' in life, and business. I may be a bit senile (I just turned 62 on July, 1) but you may find some nuggets in what I write - or at least I hope you would.

Give me a chance and, just maybe, it will all make sense one day. Or not. But at least we can have a little fun along the way, right?

Oh, about this 'posting everyday' stuff people say is so important? Don't hold your breath waiting! Besides, my posts are long enough that no normal person could handle one a day!

Best Regards
Rich Taylor