**Adrift in the national prints

Perambulating the pup this morning down by the shrimp boats, we ran into Butch Hodges, a fine gentleman of many parts. He stopped and asked if I'd read the NYTimes story on the Water Safari, since I had written a few years ago about the local boys' win. I hadn't read it, but now I have and so can you:

SEADRIFT, Tex. — The rowboat was called the Delta Dawn. It measured 24 feet long by 28 inches wide by 11½ inches deep. The bow was sealed with sawdust and epoxy, and the sides were assembled from two-by-fours of clear spruce. Butch Hodges set the beams in place one by one, alternating sides the way a guitarist changes strings. But first he built a table, a platform straight and true.

Read the whole thing here. The great race is commemorated in a mural on a wall by the grocery store. Be sure to notice it when next you pass through our village. Then you might want to drive on; you wouldn't like it here, too slow for you, no major amenities. Butch's paddling partner, Robert Chatham, is a city councilman. I complain to him when they fix the potholes in our street, allowing the kids to drive faster.