GRIFTER’S TALES Stinky Cheese, full plates, and respect for the water When you’ve been working on the water all day and you’re tired, wet and cold, there comes a point when nobody wants to do another fucking thing. That’s when…
GRIFTER’S TALES A little crew humour, a quiet moment, and the sea’s sweet breeze The last thing you want on a boat is for you—or the rest of the crew—to go squirrelly. You know the feeling: grumpy, surly, and overdue…
GRIFTER’S TALES Candy, crew comforts, and the great ranch debate “Oh my God, where’s the ranch?” “Holy fuck, do we have a lot of ranch.” Two phrases you hear far too often among pirates. Oh, sorry—mariners. 😂 Somebody is always…
GRIFTER’S TALES Boat life · Staying connected beyond cellphone range I’ve worked on boats for years, and one of the absolute worst things about it is feeling cut off from the outside world. Sometimes you have a cellphone signal. Sometimes…
GRIFTER’S TALES Practical notes · Colin Lee MacLeod “More Better Good” is a useful name for making something, learning from it and improving the next version. It fits the way this site is growing: stories, guides and recipes built one…
GRIFTER’S TALES · BY COLIN LEE MACLEOD A little Thanksgiving history Thanksgiving in Canada draws on traditions of giving thanks for the harvest. The holiday’s date changed over the years before the second Monday in October became its fixed annual…
GRIFTER’S TALES · BY COLIN LEE MACLEOD People say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I say a book has many pages and chapters. You don’t know someone’s whole story from the page you happen to meet them on.…
GRIFTER’S TALES · BY COLIN LEE MACLEOD By the time I became an official volunteer firefighter in Japan, I’d already known the men beside me for years. The difference was that now I could do more. Wanting to protect the…
GRIFTER’S TALES · BY COLIN LEE MACLEOD The parent wanted English lessons. The child hadn’t necessarily asked for them. My job began with understanding the person in front of me. The customer and the student This is about my experience…
GRIFTER’S TALES · BY COLIN LEE MACLEOD Rice fields, a family beauty salon, and a first teaching job. My working life in Japan began close to home—then sent me driving into the unfamiliar. Life around the family home When I…