I would have bitch slapped the owner of the boat at the first sign of
incompetence...=20

Donal already satated that the woman was in her 60's...chances are the =
man was probably even older, has lost his reaction time, and possibly is =
already suffering from dementia. Bitch-slapping people does nothing to =
improve a situation, but does tend to inflame others, especially when =
they perceive that the elderly are being abused (hint-hint....taking a =
walk in your own shoes). I am not defending the man's actions or lack =
thereof, but different people react in diffrent ways and he, too, could =
have been suffering from shock or disbelief. The thankful part is that =
there was someone there to act, there was someone there, to assist the =
old man, and that no lasting damage seems to have occurred. =20

Shock is a weird thing. People act totally out of character when it =
strikes. Some people are lucky and have had training to react =
immediately...if a person has never been in a bad or dangerous =
situation, they may not even realize how bad things really are, even =
staring at it right in the face. It's wasy to condemn people. It is =
much harder to understand them. It is always better to at least try to =
understand than to condemn. (unless of course, you're talking about a =
few jaded individuals that we all know...)

--=20
katysails
s/v Chanteuse
Kirie Elite 32
http://katysails.tripod.com

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax
and get used to the idea." - Robert A. Heinlein