Rockin Out With Joe King

Here’s Sam rocking out with Joe King Carrasco on the tall ship Elissa, during the party marking the end to Texas Race Week in Galveston.

Oh. And in case you were wondering… Joe King can still bring it. His crowd surfing days may be behind him. But the guy is a pro’s pro. The guitar was precise and the band was tight. But I’d had a few rum drinks by the time I wandered on to the Elissa. So maybe the nostalgic side of my brain made a brief appearance. Or maybe Joe King kicks ass! Either way, fun evening.

Imagine This

Imagine that you are a 15 year old girl, just 2 weeks shy of your sixteenth birthday.

Imagine that you just over-achieved and placed 19^th (out of 60 boats) at the US Junior Single Handed Championship, sailed in Laser Radials. Then imagine that you dominate the Houston Yacht Club Women’s regatta sailing a J/22 against the adult sailors. Let’s dream big. Let’s say you get 3 bullets in three races.

Then for an encore, imagine that you win the HYC end of year youth regatta, and receive the Kirk Arnold Trophy. Then imagine that your coaches vote you the sportsmanship award. Then your friends vote you the Youth Commodore. Embarrassed, you try to to give the sportsmanship award away, but the parents of the other kids will not let you. They make you keep it.

Now imagine for your sixteenth birthday party, you take a group of close friends to see Breaking Benjamin in downtown Houston. Without adult supervision. And then, what if, before the show, you get to MEET THE BAND because they happen to be eating at the same restaurant as you before the concert.

Then imagine, you get a brand new red Ford Mustang convertible for your sixteenth birthday.

Sounds impossible right?

It’s all true.

Well, except the bit about the Mustang, anyway.

Here’s a pic of my daughter during the most remarkable two week stretch of her young life. In the picture, she’s accepting the Kirk Arnold trophy from the HYC commodore