Lunatics, Muffins, And Kayaks

I went down a rabbit hole of research yesterday while trying to clarify some information about divorce laws in the early part of the 20th century for my new Tinder Street book. I knew that divorce was frowned upon back then, but never realized just how much of a stigma it placed on somebody. Ending a marriage, either as the plaintiff or the respondent, could ruin one’s reputation and career.

This led me to more research on how easy it was back in the late 1800s, and even into the earliest parts of the 20th century, for men to have their wives committed to “lunatic asylums” for any manner of reason. All it took was slipping a few dollars to a doctor willing to sign the commitment paperwork. It was a quick and convenient way to get a wife out of the picture without having to deal with attorneys and divorces and messy things like that. And quite often, when a woman found herself sequestered away in an asylum, it was for the rest of her life. Many families claimed the woman was dead and even published obituaries for them because being in an asylum was so scandalous.

Is it just a coincidence that I was researching how men were able to have their “unruly” wives committed to asylums, and Miss Terry decided to make muffins for me? The only question is, what are her motives? Are they a bribe or a warning? Is it safe to eat them? Just to be sure, I sent six of them home with my neighbor Jesse Bolton. I’ll wait and see how that works out before I take a chance. Oh, who am I kidding? I scarfed two down while they were still hot.

Speaking of Jesse, he came over yesterday to put the finishing touches on the kayak trailer modification. Jesse used 2x4s across the back of the trailer and created a V shape for the hulls of the kayaks to fit into. When he first assembled it, we secured everything with ratchet straps, just to see if it would work or not. It did, so yesterday Jesse drilled holes through the wood and the pipe frame of the kayak rack and countersunk long bolts through the wood. Those kayaks aren’t going anywhere, except into the water.

A while back, in a blog titled I’m a Paddler, Not A Pedaler, I reported that after trying out the Old Town Predator PDL kayak I acquired, that I would much rather paddle than use the pedal drive. I like the color scheme of the kayak better than my lime green one, and the idea of having a flat floor where the pedal drive used to be was appealing.

So I removed it and ordered a console from Austin Kayak via Amazon that goes in the pedal drive hole. It came a few days ago and I like the look of it, plus it’s got some storage space inside. I’m looking forward to trying it out.

Someone asked why we need three kayaks. We don’t. Nobody needs any kayaks at all. And actually, we don’t have three kayaks. We have five, counting the three Old Town Predators and the two Sea Eagle inflatable’s that we used to carry in our motorhome. And if we don’t need three kayaks, we darn sure don’t need five, right? But if my daughter and son and daughter-in-law visit, all five of us can go paddling together. Or anybody else who wants to hit the water with us. As for the pontoon boat, that’s kind of the mothership of our fleet.

In yesterday’s blog, I wrote about seeing a dolphin in distress, and yesterday a reader who lives in a subdivision south of us told us that there was a dead dolphin floating in the water near their dock this morning. I assume it’s the same one. That’s sad, but everything in life has a cycle. Someone else wrote that they once tried pufferfish when they were in Tokyo and really enjoyed it. That’s all well and good, but I still don’t want to eat anything that can kill me. Well, except for alligator tail. I do like that. I guess life is full of choices and chances, isn’t it?

Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for an audiobook of Big Lake, the first book in my Big Lake mystery series. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening. Note: Due to high the shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

Thought For The Day – If I’m ever known as the one that got away, it will be from an asylum.