Polaris. Issue #147

Last week seemed to fly by and I'm sitting here trying to remember what exactly it was that I did as I pack for WONDERCON in San Francisco with Kirby Krackle tomorrow... I know I listened to a lot of rap, hhhhmmmm....and devoured lots of HARIBO brand gummi candy. Maybe to much. You'll have to ask the coroner what they find during my autopsy; there's a theory that the stuff doesn't ever fully dissolve. Gross.



What I DO know is this past weekend I had the opportunity to set foot on a real live honest for realz fishing boat down in Magnolia. You know, the kind you'd never ever ever be able to picture me working on? Yeah, that kind! It was called POLARIS, and she's been making the trek out to the Bering sea for many years since she first set sail in 1914. See that "she" reference in there twice?! Yeah, I'm LEGIT on this...

Anyways, in a few weeks POLARIS heads out to the Bering Sea in search of a 3-month collection of Black Cod, Halibut, and a few mud sharks that somehow manage to get caught on the long-line in the process. It was fascinating to get a brief tour of the vessel as it was getting new paint, cleaned up in the gallery, and it's spots shined as it was being prepared for departure. That little room? It's where the 6-member crew sleeps, eats, and somehow becomes immune to the little annoying things that spending 90 days in such close quarters will bring to light. I have NO idea how it's possible not to kill each other after seeing the complete lack of personal space, but supposedly all get along great. Wow.

Besides seeing galley where everyone hangs out I also was given a closer peek into the holding tank (a big pit in the middle of the boat that houses all the precious $$$$ making cargo), the engine room (was told even stepping in it means you'd need a shower), and the navigation room (run by computer but should all else fail start spinning the wheel sailor!). All in all, I had new respect for the fishing industry, the laborers that make it happen, and the 6-piece with extra tartar I may be munching on this weekend. Bravo fish hunters, BRAVO.







This week I prep for my Thursday departure to head down to WONDERCON with Kirby Krackle for our second trip to San Francisco. Feeling great about the return trip to the Bay Area and had a nice send off of sorts this morning with a fun and very nice review from WIRED magazine. As a fan of the periodical, I'm kinda giddy. :) Despite feeling kinda run down lately, I'm looking forward to see old friends, and catch up with folks I didn't connect with at ECCC a few weeks ago while running around crazy. I think my body is maybe in partial hibernation as it's prepping for the massive travel that will be happening in April with KK. Not only are we revisiting SF, but we'll be bringing the full band to Chicago for a show on the 17th, and then Jim and I flying solo again to Calgary the week after. Compact rock times!


Loving it,

KS