It’s snug and warm in the cabin of her canalboat; and as for housekeeping, the woman is a genius. There are about twenty of these boats wintering on the canal at the foot of Erie Street. They lie side by side, adjacent to one wall. Constant passage of the fireboat through the winter means the waterway must be left open, so a rule forbids jamming the canal with boats from side to side as in former days. I knocked on the door of the stormshed, which is raised above the hatchway going down into the cabin. The canal people are hospitable to visitors from town, although they sometimes lie alongside one another a whole winter without ever becoming neighborly. But another thing is noticeable–a whole family may have to walk over the deck (which would be over the roof of a house) of another’s boat all season, and they keep it up
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Advice for Leaders at the Year’s End: Exit Gracefully
Another year comes to a close. The nominating committee having reported, and the members having voted (Please, God, in response to a motion from the floor for the Secretary to “cast one ballot for each of the nominees”), the new officers will be installed. Now comes that fateful day when those who have led in the past will themselves be led in the new year. To those happy or perhaps, unhappy souls, we boldly give this modicum of advice: One of the most important things for any leader to know is when to gracefully leave the spotlight and trust in the leadership of those who follow through the chairs. The leader Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (519 BCE) set an example for everyone who accepts a leadership role. The Roman Senate begged Cincinnatus to become temporary dictator of Rome and lead the army against the invading Germanic tribes. He accepted the position, and as
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