--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thirty years ago, my sister, Gale (so…" description: "\"Thirty years ago, my sister, Gale (so named because a gale hit Boston Harbor the night she was born), some friends and I stole a boat in the middle of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/gretel-ehrlich-9636_barbara_thirty-years-ago-my-sister-gale-so-named_801938.jpg" --- # Thirty years ago, my sister, Gale (so named because a gale… ![“Thirty years ago, my sister, Gale (so named because a gale hit Boston Harbor the night she was born), some friends and I stole a boat in the middle of the night and sailed it out of the Santa Barbara harbor. Suddenly we were becalmed and the current began pushing us toward the breakwall. With no…” quote by Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/gretel-ehrlich-9636_barbara_thirty-years-ago-my-sister-gale-so-named_801938.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/gretel-ehrlich-9636_barbara_thirty-years-ago-my-sister-gale-so-named_801938.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/gretel-ehrlich-9636_barbara_thirty-years-ago-my-sister-gale-so-named_801938.jpg) > “Thirty years ago, my sister, Gale (so named because a gale hit Boston Harbor the night she was born), some friends and I stole a boat in the middle of the night and sailed it out of the Santa Barbara harbor. Suddenly we were becalmed and the current began pushing us toward the breakwall. With no running lights and no power, we were dead in the water. Out of that darkness a steel hull appeared: it was the local Coast Guard cutter. My father, stern-faced and displeased, stood in the bow.” [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In crisis, unexpected help can appear, highlighting resilience and trust in others. **In simple terms:** Help can arrive unexpectedly during danger. Key Takeaway Stay open to assistance. Themes crisis trust resilience Mood dramatic hopeful Type inspirational narrative When to use this quote - storm sailing - mountain climbing - emergency response - team sports Key Concepts human solidarity navigation survival instincts Questions to Reflect On - What does this story teach about community? - How can we prepare for unexpected crises? A Different Perspective Reliance on others may reduce self-reliance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boston/) [Coast guard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coast-guard/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Middle of the night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-of-the-night/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Santa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/santa/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night Sailed off in a wooden shoe, - Sailed on a river of crystal light Into a sea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/wynken-blynken-and-nod-one-night-sailed-off-in-a-wooden-shoe-sailed/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod, one night sailed off in a wooden shoe; Sailed off on a river of crystal light into a sea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/winkin-blinkin-and-nod-one-night-sailed-off-in-a-wooden-shoe-sailed/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [“lucky he isn’t on the bottom of Boston Harbor with a pair of cement slippers and a log chain necklace,” Carmen stated matter-of-factly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-m-burke/lucky-he-isn-t-on-the-bottom-of-boston-harbor-with-a-pair-of-cement/) [Timothy M. Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-m-burke/) > [“He's gaining on us," the Turk said. "That is also inconceivable," the Sicilian said. "Before I stole this boat we're in, I made many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/he-s-gaining-on-us-the-turk-said-that-is-also-inconceivable-the/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [“Standing on the yarndarm of the USS Constitution , looking down at Boston Harbor two hundred feet below, I wished I had the natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/standing-on-the-yarndarm-of-the-uss-constitution-looking-down-at/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [You stole a boat,” she snapped. “What am I doing with you, you boat-stealing lunatic?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/you-stole-a-boat-she-snapped-what-am-i-doing-with-you-you-boat/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The Coast Guard evokes images of search and rescue operations, maybe during Hurricane Katrina, or guys jumping out of helicopters wearing snorkels and fins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-keilar/the-coast-guard-evokes-images-of-search-and-rescue-operations-maybe/) [Brianna Keilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-keilar/) > [The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act is an important authorization for our country and for our citizens, as we have seen so vividly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/the-coast-guard-and-maritime-transportation-act-is-an-important/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [The U.S. Coast Guard is a shining example of how well a Federal agency can perform with its flexibility, speed, and expertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-carnahan/the-u-s-coast-guard-is-a-shining-example-of-how-well-a-federal-agency/) [Russ Carnahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-carnahan/) > [Those who served, and those who continue to serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard took an oath to uphold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hayes/those-who-served-and-those-who-continue-to-serve-in-the-army-navy-air/) [Robin Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hayes/) > [I want to make sure that the Coast Guard people in Vietnam know that I am hearing about them often and that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-m-greene/i-want-to-make-sure-that-the-coast-guard-people-in-vietnam-know-that/) Wallace M. Greene > [Thank God we're going to try to continue and effectively defend our frontiers with the Border Patrol, with the Customs Department, with the Coast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mccaffrey/thank-god-we-re-going-to-try-to-continue-and-effectively-defend-our/) [Barry McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mccaffrey/) > [“Regulations say we have to go out. They say nothing about coming back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coast-guard/regulations-say-we-have-to-go-out-they-say-nothing-about-coming-back/) Coast Guard > [Scratch a Yale man with both hands and you'll be lucky to find a coast-guard. Usually you find nothing at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/scratch-a-yale-man-with-both-hands-and-you-ll-be-lucky-to-find-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [First at the outset, let me commend the great men and women of the United States Coast Guard for what they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vito-fossella/first-at-the-outset-let-me-commend-the-great-men-and-women-of-the/) [Vito Fossella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vito-fossella/) ## More by Gretel Ehrlich > [“To yield is to be preserved whole. To be bent is to become straight. To be hollow is to be filled. To be tattered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/to-yield-is-to-be-preserved-whole-to-be-bent-is-to-become-straight-to/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Turbulence, like many forms of trouble, cannot always be seen. We bounce so hard my arms sail helplessly above my head. In evolution, wing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/turbulence-like-many-forms-of-trouble-cannot-always-be-seen-we-bounce/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [From the clayey soil of northern Wyoming is mined bentonite, which is used as filler in candy, gum, and lipstick. We Americans are great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/from-the-clayey-soil-of-northern-wyoming-is-mined-bentonite-which-is/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Finally, the lessons of impermanence taught me this: loss constitutes an odd kind of fullness; despair empties out into an unquenchable appetite for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/finally-the-lessons-of-impermanence-taught-me-this-loss-constitutes/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [If anything is endemic to Wyoming it is wind. This big room of space is swept out daily, leaving a bone yard of fossils,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/if-anything-is-endemic-to-wyoming-it-is-wind-this-big-room-of-space/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/everything-in-nature-invites-us-constantly-to-be-what-we-are/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Between highway sounds I heard waves and thought how the curve of the coastline here had sheltered and nurtured live-born sharks, humans, and migrating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/between-highway-sounds-i-heard-waves-and-thought-how-the-curve-of-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Walking is also an ambulation of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/walking-is-also-an-ambulation-of-mind/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [As fog moved to the mainland I heard a flock of birds fly over. They sounded like a dress rustling, a dress being unfastened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/as-fog-moved-to-the-mainland-i-heard-a-flock-of-birds-fly-over-they/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [History is not truth versus falsehoods, but a mixture of both, a mélange of tendencies, reactions, dreams, errors, and power plays. What's important is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/history-is-not-truth-versus-falsehoods-but-a-mixture-of-both-a-m/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“What shocks me so is the detachment with which we dispense destruction -- not just bombs, but blows to the head of the earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/what-shocks-me-so-is-the-detachment-with-which-we-dispense/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Like water, I have no skin...only surface tension. (Gretel Ehrlich)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/like-water-i-have-no-skin-only-surface-tension-gretel-ehrlich/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [What Flaubert refers to as the “mélancholies du voyage” is like the sadness I feel as one season departs and another arrives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/what-flaubert-refers-to-as-the-m-lancholies-du-voyage-is-like-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Space is an arena where the rowdy particles that are the building blocks of life perform their antics. All spring, things fall; the general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/space-is-an-arena-where-the-rowdy-particles-that-are-the-building/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [There is nothing in nature that can't be taken as a sign of both mortality and invigoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/there-is-nothing-in-nature-that-can-t-be-taken-as-a-sign-of-both/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) [Explore all 71 Gretel Ehrlich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) ## More Barbara quotes > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Work takes me away from my wife, Sue, and my life in Santa Barbara.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/work-takes-me-away-from-my-wife-sue-and-my-life-in-santa-barbara/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I had never done a Director's Cut narration on Beaches so I did in time for the release of the DVD. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-marshall/i-had-never-done-a-director-s-cut-narration-on-beaches-so-i-did-in/) [Garry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-marshall/) > [I like to use the hyaluronic acid by Dr. Barbara Sturm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-rowe/i-like-to-use-the-hyaluronic-acid-by-dr-barbara-sturm/) [Camille Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-rowe/) > [As Barbara Streisand discovered, adopting a militaristic posture against a tech-savvy mob of civil libertarians is not going to be of much help: Many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/as-barbara-streisand-discovered-adopting-a-militaristic-posture/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [The postmodern reply to the modern consists of recognizing that the past, since it cannot really be destroyed, because its destruction leads to silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-postmodern-reply-to-the-modern-consists-of-recognizing-that-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There's one Baldessari work I genuinely love and would like to own, maybe because of my Midwestern roots and love of driving alone. 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/there-s-one-baldessari-work-i-genuinely-love-and-would-like-to-own/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I know I'm going to have to get beyond being George H.W. Bush's son and Barbara's son -- for which I'm really proud. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-know-i-m-going-to-have-to-get-beyond-being-george-h-w-bush-s-son/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [Throughout her career, Ana Barbara has cultivated endless hits; each of her albums was a true musical surprise... this is why today she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-barbara/throughout-her-career-ana-barbara-has-cultivated-endless-hits-each-of/) Ana Barbara > [I mean, the actors that I admired were Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, an actress named Barbara Harris. And Greta Garbo. They were great actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/i-mean-the-actors-that-i-admired-were-marlon-brando-montgomery-clift/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) > [I've published many biographies over the years and enjoyed working with writers on their research, discussing it, thinking about it and how it revealed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-wilson/i-ve-published-many-biographies-over-the-years-and-enjoyed-working/) [Victoria Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-wilson/) > [When I was in college, I wanted to be editor of 'Reason' when I grew up. It was an impractical ambition, especially since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/when-i-was-in-college-i-wanted-to-be-editor-of-reason-when-i-grew-up/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [I was lucky enough to make four pictures with Barbara. In the first I turned her in, in the second I killed her, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-macmurray/i-was-lucky-enough-to-make-four-pictures-with-barbara-in-the-first-i/) [Fred MacMurray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-macmurray/) > [Barbara Parkins was so rude and petty all of the time. I just found her behavior to be so silly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-wood/barbara-parkins-was-so-rude-and-petty-all-of-the-time-i-just-found/) [Lana Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-wood/) Browse all 176 Barbara quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thirty years ago, my sister, Gale (so named because a gale hit Boston Harbor the night she was born), some friends and I stole a boat in the middle of the night and sailed it out of the Santa Barbara harbor. Suddenly we were becalmed and the current began pushing us toward the breakwall. With no running lights and no power, we were dead in the water. 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