A Sea Story
In the hills of North Carolina, a band of Seafarers, retreated to the higher ground after years of journeying separately to the ends of the earth in Viking trading and exploration vessels. Renegades and corporate drop-outs, they meet to share the lessons learned in the harsh world of climbing the corporate ladder- A world full of sharks, pirates and sea beasts.
They tell stories too of a sea called “Entrepreneurship” where many a willing heart ventures out from the safety of the solid shore.-where only the strong survive and return to tell the stories of far away lands and strange places. Around a small camp fire, myths and legends are exchanged, each tale stranger than the one before.
Stories of sea monsters, bottomless holes on the oceans floor… and outlaw pirates.
They talk about sea bandits who would steal your very heart if only they could get close enough to you.
But, more than that, they sing of beautiful mermaids cleaving to the side of the ship and Herculean men who rescue fair maidens. They’re eyes opened wide while describing hidden treasures of gold, diamonds and rubies as far as the eye can see. Their mouths watered in memory of the culinary delights and delectable dishes they had consumed in the most exotic corners of the earth. They bragged about their heroic exploits.
“For Alas, it is true”, cried the Viking sitting alone on a fallen tree trunk under the light of the moon. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the biggest, brightest, and most beautiful diamond any of the travelers had ever seen in person.
“This is my testimony.”
He passed the jewel around for the other 7 to inspect.
“It is real, and so are all of the stories you men have told. For we have witnessed it with our own eyes. We have witnessed the cold nights without a meal and beds of snow. We have experienced the cruel winds and ocean storms. Our lips have bled, being cracked from the salty air and our muscles unnourished, aching with the pain of weeks of cruel labor fighting the sail. We have seen and fought the mighty Behemoth-The monster swift and strong. 3 of our comrades became its fodder.”
“Some of us have nearly succumbed to the jaws of the darkest holes in the oceans deep. Saved only by the grace of God and a sheer will to survive, unlike 2 of our dear friends whose souls will eternally rest at the bottom of the sea.”
“Black Beard’s crew was no match for the treacherous pirates roaming the coasts, who mercy knew not.”
“Yet…we stand…for through it all…we have learned the ways of victory.”
“We learned how to capture markets, how to build teams, how to fight off the giant sea beasts who sought to devour us whole. We learned the locations of the hidden treasures waiting still.”
“In the morning we will return to the coasts. We will set sail for the seas of high adventure again-refreshed, renewed and much wiser.”
After he finished speaking, all 8 sailors stood and held hands, encircling the now, smoldering fire, the only source of light and heat in the entire camp.
After a moment of silence for the 5 who never returned, they each departed. Though still a band and always united in spirit, they went on their separate paths…back to the sea.
They would each organize a crew in a race to gather all of the riches they had found on their earlier voyages.
They would meet at this hallowed spot again, on the same day every year. Bon Voyage!
And the band grew and became great and ruled the land …and the seas.
