A Proud Moment

If you're reading my blog (both of you. Hey Aunt Sue!) You probably understand a little bit about the boat in the picture. For those of you who are inlanders, it's a boat. For those of you a little closer to the coast, it's a shrimp boat. For those of you who've been around this town for quite a while, it's the Apache Chief built right here in Bayou La Batre at Landry Boatworks. As most of you know, Landry Boatworks has a special place in my heart and life, as it is my family's business. At some point after World War II, my grandfather and two of his brothers went into the boat building business. Over the years, Landry boats have made it to many distant points of the globe, and I'm proud of the work that my family has been a part of. Uncle Roy, Uncle Shine, and Papa Joe had an incredible career as businessmen in this town, and I'm thankful for the impact that they've had on our church and community.

The good news is that the work is continuing. The trawler industry is certainly not what it once was, but a group of men is still hard at work continuing the tradition of wood boat craftsmanship at Landry Boatworks. My dad, Rena Landry and his brother Darrell Landry are hanging on and working hard to keep things going, as the old yard nears its 65th (I think) year of operation. So, imagine my surprise when my cousin linked to a Facebook post with pictures and a brief description of the work going on at the shipyard. You can check that out here. Seeing the work that they're doing gives me an awful lot of pride. It's proof to me of what a couple of guys can do with a lot of grit, determination, ingenuity, and a little bit of luck.

So, what about me? Why am I not continuing in the family business? That's a good question, and one that God answered by calling me to ministry. It's good that he did that, because its entirely possible that I was the worst employee in the history of Landry Boatworks. No, really. I'm not trying to be humble. Thankfully, they didn't feel like they could fire me, since I was family and all. While I may not have made a great contribution to the ongoing work at the shipyard, it made a great contribution to me. Here are a few things that I've learned through my association with Landry Boatworks.

1) Coffee is always good. There's never a bad time to have a cup of coffee. Even if it's 110 degrees outside, you can count on the guys at the shipyard to be enjoying a cup of coffee. It's probably been sitting on the warmer for three or four hours, but that just gives it character.

2) It's hard to impress cute girls when you've been scraping barnacles all day. If any of you have never had the opportunity to scrape barnacles for a living, I can't recommend it highly enough. When you walk into a store after work with a combination of broken shell and a substance that's highly reminiscent of orange snot in your hair, there's no way you can look cool. Also, when you go on a date later that evening, you must be careful to scrub away all of the Eau du Barnacle. One whiff of those guys and your night out is done.

3) Weight room muscles aren't good for much in the real world. As a teenager, I was pretty proud of all the muscles I'd developed in the weight room working out for football. After my first few weeks, I discovered that their were a couple of 50 year-old guys that weighed 130 lbs. soaking wet who could lift double what I could. Over time, I learned that there was a technique involved, a "right way" to do things. This lesson also taught me that the mind is an important muscle to develop.

4) God gifts fathers with a level of patience for their children that can only come from Him.

5) There are some instructions that I was given so many times that they haunt me to this day. If you ever see me painting anything, you may hear me muttering under my breath, "Put some paint on that brush, son. Don't leave any holidays now." Or, when I have to move something, "Come on now, you gotta want to!" Good words for any man to live by.

6) Hard work is its own reward. Or some variation of that. There's a certain satisfaction that comes with a job well done. But before you get too comfortable there's another boat behind that one, so we need to get ready to haul it up...

7) Family resemblances are unmistakable. A year or two, I saw a friend of the family that hadn't seen me since I was a kid. The conversation went something like this:
Me: Sir, you may not remember me...
Him: Son, with that big Landry jaw, I'd know who you belonged to from a mile away.

8) Be good to people. Over the years many of the men in our community worked for the shipyard, and when they find out who I am, they make sure to mention it. So far, that's been a good thing.

9) You can do the job with the tools you have if your level of determination is sufficient. No job at Landry Boatworks has ever been stopped because the proper tool was unavailable. I've watched the New Yankee Workshop on PBS and learned that with $75,000 worth of tools in your shed you can make a number of nice items to decorate your home, such as a shoe rack or maybe a nice entertainment center. Whoopty-doo, we built a fleet of shrimp boats with a few ball-peen hammers, a hand plane, down-ingenuity, and guts. Anything that can't be fixed with a ball-peen hammer can't be fixed.

10) When the seagulls fly overhead, move.


If you'd like to find out more about Landry Boatworks check out their website at www.landryboats.com and this list of boats that they've built over the years here courtesy of shipbuildinghistory.com