Friday, February 25, 2011

FNAR

Yes, Melanie, For No Apparent Reason.

You win... you win... ummm... you win my applause? :D


Long ago, before marriage, children, and settling down, I used to race sailboats.  Lots of fun and excitement.  Total craziness.

And people name their boats the darnedest things.  Like FNAR.

Why did you name your boat FNAR?

For no apparent reason.

I've crewed on boats named after a Viking goddess, a hero of the Trojan war, a household cleanser (?), and the owner's wife's favorite ice cream.  Go figure.

I've seen Road Kill (apparently the owner lost a bet), Flying White Patio Furniture (which described the wife's reaction when she learned he bought the boat), and my favorite - Dr. Ruth.

The story I heard went like this:

There's a tradition (obviously not always followed) for men to name their boats after their wives.  Well, apparently the owner's wife had been overweight, but had trimmed down and shaped up and become quite a beauty.  The problem was, the boat was kind of short and "beamy".  Not exactly the image of his wife, right?  That would be an insult.  So - problem solved - he named the boat...

Dr. Ruth.

6 comments:

Rachael Starke said...

That. Is. Awesome.

Good husband. :)

Ruby said...

Hmm..perhaps that is a US joke as I do not know of Dr Ruth :-(
Now "Flying Patio Furniture" that is a scream!!!

melanie said...

I would say that racing sailboats ('Total craziness') more than qualifies you to move up the career/hobby ladder to Herder of Grasshoppers! :D I suppose if I were cool, which I am not, I might say, "You rock!"

I am grateful for your applause ~ and another fun post instead of a simple "Yes." A priceless clutter-free prize. =)

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Ruby - Dr. Ruth (here's a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Westheimer) is? was? a sex therapist, which wasn't as relevant to the naming of the boat. She was often parodied for her accent (thick German) and her appearnace - short and kind of dumpy/beamy.

That's the joke.

True story. I met the guy and his wife through one of the yacht clubs I raced with.

Julie

Ruby said...

Aha! That makes some sense :-)

Choate Family said...

Anything else we should know about your "former" lives? Maybe a comedienne? Or a race car driver?