Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Between the sticks times three

When Adam and I go to a towboat open house or dedication, or if he goes along to carry my stuff while I cover a boat story for a publication, I usually get a picture of him between the steering levers in the pilothouse. We call it "between the sticks".

We've done this for years, before he knew what was happening even. I think his first such photo was on a Dravo Viking owned by AEP while he was in kindergarten or first grade.

I've lost count of how many times we've done this, and it includes the American Queen and him at the wheel of a small sternwheeler in a sternwheeler parade.

In the past couple of weeks, Adam has been able to pose with three boats.

The M/V Garry Lacey


The M/V Chuck Piepmeier


And the M/V Michael T. Somales


Yeah, that's the shirt he wears at all special occasions.

The good news is that with the out-of-town trips over for now (that we know of), he can get a haircut. He didn't want to go anywhere with a bad haircut, and the difference between a bad haircut and a decent one is two weeks, or so they say.

I don't know how it works on the river, but based on my time in the newsroom and watching editors, in the bottom picture it looks like he's just staring out, and the top one looks like he's been in his job for several years.

Will there be any more opportunities to get between the sticks this summer or fall? Who knows?