Tag: funny

My shop is named after the famous Davy Jones. Please note that as a sailor, I am cautious not to offend Davy. It might be funny or humorous to a flatlander, but most sailors stick to traditions. Traditions like no bananas allowed on board, never start a voyage on a Friday and don’t whistle for a wind ( you’ll get a storm). So I’d never use the word infamous in describing the locker or make fun of Davy’s establishment.

A locker onboard a ship, in a boat or shipyard, is where you stow tools, paint, varnish, rope, line, or sails. Davy Jones Locker was where all those good things lost overboard wound up. You could occasionally hear someone say, ” it’s gone to Davy’s.”

Growing up in a family where my father was Merchant Marine, and my uncle Navy, I heard many Davy Jones stories while little. Having already toured a few chandler’s shops, I imagined it to be a large ship chandlery, or for the flatlanders reading this perhaps a super-sized Walmart or hardware store on steroids – but just for ships and boats.

My shop didn’t start that way. It was my greenhouse. Then I saw how pleasant it was to sit out there all toasty in February. So I added a bench. Then the tools started migrating up from the dank, dark basement shop. How could I stop them? They wanted to be cozy too. Problems arranging and storing things developed. I’ve described it as ten pounds in a five-pound bag. But that was six months ago, and things have deteriorated since them.

So I yielded and put the Davy Jones’ Locker sign up. Let’s call it like it is.