Tom — the one I've been carrying for months

Tom — The starter on the Northern Lights finally gave up last week. Had to fabricate a brush holder from an old copper pipe flange. Works better than the factory part. You'd hate that. Day 774 here. Jenny's got the garden producing actual calories now — kale through winter, potatoes in tires. I've got the shortwave pulling Reykjavik and Halifax most nights. Weather forecasts, hockey scores, a priest in Portuguese doing mass at 0300. Sometimes I just listen to the static. The boat's sound. New impeller, sealed fuel lines, the dry bag under the bunk with flares, medevac forms, this letter. I was wrong to leave the way I did. Should've told you the boat needed the injector pump timed before the season. Should've said a lot of things. Mom's voice on the machine last Christmas — you didn't pick up. I didn't leave a message. If you're reading this, the bag's been opened. Means I'm not coming back for it. Engine room's always forward, port side. Check the raw water strainer first. It's always the strainer. — Kev