BOATS IN MY BLOOD

Johnson offers a memoir in which he recalls a life spent among boats and other machines.

The author was born in Maryland in 1945. From an early age, he helped with tasks such as running the family boat. Johnson’s young days were full of activities such as making balsa wood model planes, tinkering with various pieces of equipment, and repairing furniture. He also got to experience firsthand the commercial garage in which his father worked. Due to a childhood bout with polio, he didn’t quite have the build for sports, and his ADHD (as it would later be called) prevented him from being a star pupil at school. Hands-on learning was his métier; his aptitude with tools helped pave the way for adventures in Sint Maarten working on boats (the Caribbean years are chronicled by the inclusion of some letters the author sent to his father at the time). The book’s short chapters are dotted with photos, including a picture of Maryland’s Severn River, where Johnson’s family had a cottage. Later sections reprint various articles Johnson has written over the years, reflecting on everything from the technical (like gas tank restoration) to the spiritual (including a one-page piece entitled “A Deal With God”). Although the book begins as a chronological memoir, it branches off into different topics; in addition to the strictly biographical material, pages are devoted to subjects ranging from discussions of personal values to the complications encountered when restoring a barn. While this format keeps things lively, some of the chronology is confusing. The author mentions purchasing a Volkswagen camper with a woman named Donna, but not until pages later (in a section on an entirely different topic) do readers learn that Donna was Johnson’s first wife. Still, the author’s upbeat attitude (the book includes many exclamation points) gives the work a pleasant tone, and his passion for the subject matter is evident throughout.

A sometimes scattered but enthusiastic look at a life enlivened by mechanical curiosity.