Artist's Canoe

My canoe is very old and very heavy. I can barely lift it into the lake. However, it fits me and my small lake perfectly, it glides gracefully and silently through the water and responds instantly to the commands of my paddle. I love it. I first aw it on a back road on my way to Huntsville, one rainy day. The canoe was half in the ditch, with a "For Sale" sign on it. I sped by, but thought about it all day. I made a point to drive home the back way again, just to have another look. It was gone! I went to the nearest house and knocked on the barn door. The man said, " It's still here. I just pulled it out of the rain." Now, I am not an expert on choosing the right canoe, but I can recognize a thing of great beauty and character. My thought was, "Just think of the beautiful paintings I can make with this canoe - not only the canoe itself, but the places it can take me to." The seller was a canoe builder and he told me that this canoe was the oldest canoe that had ever crossed his threshold. He and his friend had restored it. I bought it.