If personality reflects intellect, then what you see may not be what
you get. Canny yachties have heard or figured out for them selves that
the best way to avoid some problems is called the Old Gray Chevy
Solution.

Some time ago, I went to a graduation ceremony at a hotel where
peoples' land yachts were proudly displayed, parading debutants to the
prom.

My rusty old Taurus was an embarrasment, I am sure, to my daughter.
Yet it was my jalopy that made the front page, with its fingered in
the dust message: "Paid for." It was a dependable car. Everything else
I own is paid for.

All those who had to borrow to rent horses and carriages, caddillacs
and hummers are still in debt. Their pride may be delusional.

Occupying two parking spots near the entrance was a brand new bronze
1969 Shelby Cobra, or possibly a later reproduction, parked slantwise,
to ensure no careless doors could ding it. Pretentious? Outrageous?
I wanted to key the damned thing myself!

No one bothers an humble old gray chevy, nor an old aluminium car
topper.

My daughter got the message. It's her education and her intellect
that matters, not ostentatious displays of dinghy splendour. Some
people need big guns to inflate their ego, some are content to let
others take the brunt of jealous vandals and thieves.

Now, if only that philosophy had some effect on the seagulls and owls
who defecate equally on the yachts of the proud and the humble. Those
who merely aspire to snobbery probably do not even suspect the true
snobs.

As any real engineer will tell you: "Good enough is good enough."

Terry K