That's Nice

I don't believe I ever heard Nana say a negative word about anyone. She was, without a doubt, the nicest person I have ever known. I think her favorite phrase was, "That's nice." It was her go-to phrase. I'm not sure if it was reserved for things she agreed with or didn't agree with because she was just too nice to say either way.

Over the years, I came to appreciate hearing, "That's nice."

Nana left a small amount of money to each of us when she died. It wasn't much, but it was significant to us. Things were financially pretty tight for us at the time. We didn't want to just fritter the money away in a way we would regret later, but we knew that if we just left it sitting around it would just mingle with the rest of our money and go toward bills and other normal day-to-day expenditures. We wanted to do something that would help us remember Nana.

So we bought a boat. Not a fancy boat; just a simple 1965 fourteen foot Lone V-hull with a 9.9 horsepower  Mercury outboard and a rather rickety, old trailer. Somewhere along the way, someone had given her a very light camouflage paint job and mounted a single cleat on the bow. She was the perfect little fishing boat and I fell in love with her as soon as I saw her.

Her transom is too small to paint a fancy name on her, but Diane and the boys and I christened her That's Nice nonetheless. It seem like the perfect name because that's what Nana would most certainly have said had I been able to tell her I bought a boat.

Through the years it has become apparent that That's Nice is the perfect name for her.

It was on board That's Nice that we ran the boat in tight circles, pounding through its wake over and over to the delight of our two little boys.

It was on board That's Nice that the boys spent hours gleefully catching bluegill after bluegill after bluegill.

It was on board That's Nice that Matthew spent fifteen minutes battling a seven pound freshwater drum on the Peshtigo River; delighted to catch such a big fish without caring that it was just a rough fish that we would throw back.

It was on board That's Nice that Diane learned the "birds" she saw flying around at sunset on Eagle Springs Lake were really bats.

It was on board That's Nice that I monitored teen canoe trips down the Menominee River between Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan.

But her name is perfect mostly because it was on board That's Nice that we built many memories; each one of which is somehow tied to Nana.

That's Nice has floated on many, many waters around the State of Wisconsin. She's floated down rivers and across lakes. She's seen many fish come over her gunwales. She's been a part of more memories than I can count.

I've had to replace the outboard and trailer through the years, but the boat remains. I've seen other small boats that have features I wish That's Nice had, but they're not the same. Diane once mentioned selling That's Nice and using the money to buy a different boat, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

That's Nice is my constant reminder of Nana - the nicest person I've ever known.