“Ferries: A Love Story” by Mary Jean Babic (fiction ’02)
An excerpt from “Ferries: A Love Story” by Mary Jean Babic (fiction ’02), published by Medium.
Ferries: A Love Story
The ferry Seastreak glides across New York Harbor, bringing our sleepy family home after a July 4 outing to Sandy Hook beach in New Jersey. Off to the left, a seagull skims the water, its speed momentarily matching ours. To my right, the towering Parachute Jump at Coney Island glows red in the late afternoon sun. Moments later, the Statue of Liberty fills our windows, so close we could practically tug on Lady Liberty’s robes.
It’s a busy day on the harbor: jet skis, sailboats, shipping tankers, a massive Royal Caribbean cruise ship. I went on a cruise once. Once was enough. I jet skied once, many summers ago. It was fun until the thing ran out of gas and left me bobbing helplessly in the middle of Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay. Another long-ago summer, I took sailing lessons in the deep harbor of Baltimore. Harnessing nature’s force to navigate brought me, briefly, into spiritual communion with our seafaring ancestors, but after my two free lessons I didn’t join the pricey sailing club. No, the vessel for me is the one I’m on — not too big, not too small, humble and utilitarian. A ferry.
[… continue reading “Ferries: A Love Story” at Medium.]
