That Voodoo You Do


I was lucky enough to take a trip by ship once, and as guests we were given privilege to go to the ship's bridge whenever we wanted and sit with the captain and mates as they navigated. I may have spent too much time there making myself at home touching all their computers and using the huge binoculars to look for whales. My first day I snapped a picture of everyone at work on the bridge, and one of they guys asked me to delete it. As a land lubber I was worried I'd broken some age old maritime tradition, but then all the other guys on the bridge started making fun of him. He took me on a tour, showing me all the instruments and charts. Then we went in the communication room and he pulled out a map and talked about the powers of distant islands. He explained that pictures rob power, and he didn't like people to photograph him. I slept better that night knowing that the guy who held the bridge during the evenings held certain esoteric power beliefs.

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