Donut Boat

A Simple Introduction to some Colorful Characters. This is a story about Hap and Shiny and their friends they call family. Shiny tends the horses and Hap floats the boat! The donut boat supplies donuts, hot coffee and firewood to the campers along the banks of the river. This day the clouds move out after the night storm and the sweet sunlight breaks through. The air is heavy and misty along the river bed. Everyone wants to see the big inflated donut tethered high above the Donut Boat coming their way today. Excitement grows at the first sight as it comes around the point. Good morning smiles to and from all. Campfires start to blaze. The ponies all get a little sweet feed and a flake of hay from Shiny to start the day, and an ear rub. Soaking in the sunlight after the storm, steam lifts from the horses coats; as the fiddler plays the morning song. Hap heads down river to the camp of Pluto and Mim, with supplies for the week. Pluto reads horoscopes on the beach, while Mim plays her clay finger flute and tambourine for all that pass by their camp. The beautifully painted purple and blue wagons in their camp are easy to spot. Many dogs laying in the sun or playing about. The coffee is always hot on the fire. Mim sells colorful scarves and wooden animal totems that Pluto has carved. She wears layers of shawls and he has a maroon scarf around his waist. She has deep colored eyes with fire burning inside them and he has eyes of blue, blue, sweet light blue. Pluto sees everywhere the sacred geometry; the spiral of the shell and the pattern of the pineapple. He loves to calculate the movement of the planets. A master cabinet maker; there will always be secret door or drawer built-in. When I first met Mim she lived in the high hills west of here and kept a small house boat in the bay. With her love for nature and the study of ancient wisdom; a multi layered love for life radiates across her face! Coming to shore Hap sees the smiles on their faces! The orange ball of the sun dropped from the sky. In the after colors of the sunset one last plane is coming in low along the horizon. The sliver moon has grown a bit, the fire starts up, and a sweet guitar solo. A spotted line in the twilight sky is the geese heading out. Itʼs been a calm sunny day deep in November. From the porch the blue and white and little yellow planes circle around – must be take off and landing practice today, in the near field past the pines. Then a beautiful silver and red one commands the sky; itʼs Don giving us I flyby. Most of the river boats are off of the water by now. Hap plans to take her boat out one more time – next Sunday. When Hap comes in we all pull her boat out of the river for the season. There is always a small parade and a feast that day. Shiny, bareback on his stallion, always leads the parade.