Anticipation... or what to do when ten tons of stuff is about to fall into your lap.

Heron Lake's marina is unique in the area in that it is operated by the all-volunteer New Mexico Sailing Club. It's a great place for sailors to socialize and congregate during the warmer months of the year and provides a cool escape for city dwellers to get away from it all and relax in a splendid natural setting.

However, after a surprise telephone call, today was not the day for me to relax in my role as a part-time marina manager. I learned that a truckload of marina parts that the club had ordered was already on its way, with delivery imminent. The parts were ordered so that we can rehabilitate and extend the life of one of the older docks; we wanted them delivered in time for the fall work parties that begin this weekend and need to be installed before winter closes in on the high mountain country. Among the parts are three jumbo concrete anchors, two smaller anchors, a couple dozen and some reinforcing braces, a couple dozen jumbo plastic-encased floats, and various winches, stands, cables, etc. We were surprised because that factory hadn't given us an expected fabrication or delivery date.

Worse for us, the club member who'd volunteered to accept delivery at his home near the marina had recently suffered a stroke and was undergoing intensive rehabilitation therapy in the big city 160 miles from the marina. And, he'd been the guy who was going to find a forklift to unload the delivery.

So, this morning, I was asking myself, "How on earth am I going to unload several tons of this stuff?" Well, that wasn't quite exactly what I was thinking. Some of the stuff could perhaps have been unloaded by hand, but truckers aren't very patient, and for sure the 4,100-pound low-profile anchors would need a heavy-duty forklift.

Frantic phone calls ensued. I soon learned the location of just about every forklift within 50 miles of the marina and eventually came up with a plan to get the truck unloaded.

Now all we have to do is hear from the driver as to where in North America the truck is and when it'll be in our neighborhood... I hope in time for me to drive the 160 miles to meet him or her.

Also to be done in my abundant spare time is finishing the ballot for the NMSC elections, working on plans for the marina, and doing committee boat duty down south at the first RGSC fall series regatta. That, and moving furniture to set up a place, and trying to speed repairs for Carol Anne's boat, and moving and repairing some small sailboats, and setting up boat storage at another lake, and preparing our MacGregor for eventual sale, and more. And little stuff, such as folding 150 luminaria (farolito) bags last night and encouraging "Tadpole" to prepare for his big string bass audition this week. It's getting interesting.