My Heart Is Broken Friday of Enka Weekend 20190517

My heart aches when I see something beautiful get broken, and this happened on the morning of, and during the funeral of David Gordon Wilson,  a giant in both heart and mind, was remembered at the Church of the Epiphany.

After returning from services, I saw that the beautiful single scull / rowing shell, had been broken, by what obviously was someone retrieving a ball from my yard, and wanted to jump over the fence and stepped on top of the boat.

A single scull rowing shell is a crafted beauty, eleven and a half inches wide at the water line, and it flares out for where the seat rolls back and forth.  The feet are stationary where the shoes are bolted to the boat.  the oarlocks and rigging were removed as they normally are for storage.  26 feet long from bow ball to stern, it had a white shell and eggplant deck.  Rowing such a shell on the Charles River is a spiritual experience beyond comparison, with the Mass Pike overhead but separate, one can be in a quiet place where the mind can rest, where one can talk to the herons and turtles on the logs by the riverside, and the almost soundless gliding through the water is calming.  It is very different from rowing with other people, because certainly one has to be in sync with the others.  Rowing a single is peace for body and spirit.

Am I angry? Yes.  Am I sad? More yes.  A natural reaction might be to despise the privileged youth who appear to be feel no remorse nor responsibility for walking into other people's property, vandalizing, (and someone mentioned, damage over $250 might even be categorized as a felony), and walking away.  I also fear for the soul of the youth (it was probably not an old man such as myself) who will walk through life believing they can do whatever they want, leaving damage in the wake of their lives, and shrug it off as if they can.  There were probably many witnesses, and by not speaking out, I condemn their silence as collaborators in the destruction and felony.   There are many ways to report a crime against people, and a crime against beauty, and if anyone felt strongly enough they can find a way.  Hint: http://www.winchesterpd.org/contacts/anonymous-tip or the 01890 app on IOS (currently not available on android).

An apology, some expression of remorse, or even replacing such a rowing shell, could heal the universe a bit.  The better outcome would be for the perpetrators and their witnesses to come clean before they are caught and found guilty trying to hide their crime.  At that point my own willingness to forgive will have been greatly diminished.

I pray for peace in my own heart to forgive (I am certainly never forgetting this event), but I pray more for all of you who will carry your guilt and karma forward for the rest of your lives.