"Stick with what you love."

I went downtown to meet a friend for tea this afternoon and gave myself a little extra time to search for a Blip on the way. I was standing by the river, shooting some really boring brown and gray river-and-sky-scapes when Mr. Chalmers touched my elbow and asked me, "How many knots do you think that water is moving?"
"I have no idea. Do you know?"
"Yes, I work here."
"On the river?"
"At the Oregon Maritime Museum." He gestured to the paddle-wheel boat beside us.
"What do you do there?"
"I'm a volunteer on the maintenance team. We keep the boat in good shape, be sure everything's working. I just love boats, water, anything to do with boats and water. Always have. I love the smell, the sound, everything about boats. I was in the Navy five years during the war, but otherwise I never found a way to make a living on the water. Once I retired, I could do anything I wanted, and I told the Missus, 'I'm gonna find me something with boats.' And I did. It keeps me going, I can tell you. I always tell people you should stick with what you love. Even if you can't make a living with it, just hang on, you'll find a way."

Thanks to Fotodiario for the following quotation from Mark Twain, which is just perfect, and sounds like the principle by which Mr. Chalmers and I have lived our lives: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."