I went on a little book buying spree today while waiting around the mall. There is a new Barnes & Noble book store right next to the mall office, where I was trying to get roof access. It was more temptation than I could handle. So I wandered in and walked out with three new reference books. Two of them are writing books; Howdunit – Police Procedure & Investigation: A Guide for Writers by Lee Lofland and Elements of Fiction Writing – Conflict, Action & Suspense by William Noble. The third is more of a career reference for folks getting into the P.I. field, but I think it’ll be useful as I work through this novel; The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating by Steven Kerry Brown. I haven’t cracked the cover on any of them yet, but I’m looking to digging into each of them.

I didn’t get on the roof. Win some, lose some.

38' Chris-Craft Commander

Coconut Attitude

During his divorce, Josh, was looking for an apartment when a family friend allowed him to stay on his boat as a sort of liveaboard caretaker. The boat was in need of some TLC and the owner was only visiting it two or three times a year. It was a good arrangement for both of them. Josh got a place to live and the owner had someone to maintain the boat while he was away. Josh, found that the liveaboard lifestyle fit him and when 3-years later the owner wanted to sell the boat, Josh bought it. He has lived aboard ever since. The boat has switched marina’s a few times but is currently docked on the Trout River just outside of downtown Jacksonville.

The Coconut Attitude, the boats original name, Josh hasn’t bothered to change it, is a 1972 Chris-Craft 38-ft. Commander of the flybridge variety. She’s  13-feet wide and 41-feet long due to a bow pulpit and a swim platform. The engines are counter-rotating 454′s. The boat is equipped with all the comforts of home; stove, refrigerator, microwave, and even has a 16500 btu air conditioner and electric heat.  For being nearly 40-years old, she’s in pretty good shape. If the work continues she’ll be good for another fourty.

2009 Dodge Challenger R/T

Josh’s Ride

When it comes to work and being undetected, Josh, drives the 2005 silver Toyota Camry that stays parked in the lot at the office. When it comes to anything else, Josh,  uses his own car. A brand spanking new (thanks to a rather well paying job for a Fortune 500 company) 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T. It’s HEMI Orange with black stripes on the hood. Powered by a 5.7-liter HEMI V8, rated at 376 hp and 410 lb.-ft. of torque with the optional Tremec 6060 six-speed manual. The HEMI sports variable valve timing on the camshaft and a 10.5:1 compression ratio. Tires are P245/45ZR-20 Goodyear Eagle RSAs. Dodge says the R/T version will do the 0 to 60 hustle in a mere 5.5 seconds, and will get 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway.

Newfoundland Dog

If you visit Coconut Attitude you’re sure to encounter Josh’s dog, Fish. He’s a very large, very black Newfoundland Dog.  Around the marina Fish is famous for his giant size, deep bark, sweet disposition, and his swimming; everyone knows Fish.

Fish is huge. He’s 28-inches tall at the shoulder, more than 5-1/2 feet from nose to tail, weighs 180 pounds, and is covered in shaggy black fur. It is not uncommon for people to mention his resemblance to a bear when first seeing him. His head is the size of a pumpkin; a black, droopy lipped, hang jowl, slobbering pumpkin. To look at his soft, drooling expression you might think him a bit slow, but he carries himself with a benevolent and dignified temperament.

Despite his huge size and intimidating appearance, Fish, is a well trained, loving, and patient dog. His gentleness, kindness, and alertness have kept more than one child out of the marina’s depths. Fish does not typically bark or growl when visitors come to the boat, instead he simply places himself in such a way as to protect Josh and block the strangers path onto the boat. Despite this protectiveness of  his boat, Fish, has taken to swimming amongst the other boats throughout the marina, in his slightly odd and comical breaststroke,  begging for handouts and checking up on everyone.

Fish loves to swim and be in the water. He can often be found swimming in circles behind the Coconut Attitude. But Fish does not like to dry himself on the deck of the boat or on the dock. If there was one source of contention between Fish and Josh, this would be it.

So I was supposed to be writing the 500 word character study of Josh Hale for you tonight. But instead I did these two inspirational/motivational wallpapers to help me focus on the story. Ha. They’re both 1920 x 1200 resolution, because that’s what I use. I didn’t make any lesser resolution wallpapers because, well, who the hell would want them. This is the first time I’ve done this with photos, check them out. And I make no claim to any part of these pictures, all I did is put them together in a manner conclusive to my needs. Peace out.

This was the first one I did.

And then I did this one, just because.

Enjoy.