My New Identity as Rower

I bought a scull and rack space at the boat house. I have a new identity: that of a rower.

I rowed in college.  I was fourth seat, starboard, of my heavyweight eight team.  Since then and until a few years ago, I had never rowed.  One day, I decided to rent a single from the boat house, without knowing what I was doing.  After that, I took a class and started renting.  My new job used to have hours from 9-6:30 which disallowed renting during the week so I went off the habit.  The rentals close at 7 but owners can row until 8.

This summer my name came up, after 5 years’ wait, for a space at the boathouse.  I didn’t have a boat but took it anyway.  Then I found a boat, a little money, and next thing I knew, I was sculling my own carbon fiber Hudson Elite Heavyweight Single, Christened Gerris, just about every day.  Mind you, it wasn’t easy at first.  In fact, I bought too much boat.

So, now I have a new identity.  Not as a geek, marketing guy, techie, public relations executive, or memetic engineer, but rather, rower.  Sculler, to be more precise, but I believe that people don’t refer to themselves as such, it is rower.  One rows a scull.  A scull is a single shell.  Sculling is what one does, not what one is.  

I am a rower.  And I am damned happy to be.