Dinghy

You all have heard from my parents about the infamous dinghy… it gets holes in it making it impossible for them to go ashore for an entire week… it looses oars easily (and to a former rower, that’s just plain not cool). Maybe it’s the name on the dinghy that is the source for all of these mishaps.

As some, who have been lucky enough to take a little dinghy ride back when it was on Botkin Creek off the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, may know, the dingy has a quite interesting and unique name. Doodlebug. It’s the affectionate nickname given to me, Katie, by my mother.

I assisted in a few different aspects of getting the boat ready for their voyage, including countless hours at boat shows, numerous trips to boat yards, and quite a few dinghy rides to and from Grace. Given my assistance in preparing the boat, I was allowed to name the dinghy. So naturally, I chose my name, or nickname, to make something on that boat all about me.

Over the years, I developed the other nickname, Calamity Kate. Wreaking havoc wherever I went, leaving a trail of destruction in my wake. Not bragging, just stating. That’s how the nickname doodlebug evolved. A doodlebug was the colloquial name for a V-1 flying bomb. This V-1 bomb developed a bad reputation for its guidance system during WWII when the Germans attempted its use against the allied forces—essentially an unguided missile. Not knowing this until I was 22 was probably a very good thing for my self-esteem. Somehow I think if I had known the affectionate nickname doodlebug had really been referring to me as an unguided missile…I might have had a few issues. But all is well, and I am a doodlebug for the most part, although I don’t leave as large a wake as I used to, I still leave my impact wherever I go.