Hope Is A Thing With Feathers
Posted on 13th April 2022 at 23:03
"“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -"
- Emily Dickenson
In times like these, it can be difficult to find silver linings amidst all the bad news. We see the tanking economy, rising unemployment, conflicting information, and think “How much worse can it get?” That is why we see things like John Krasinski’s “Some Good News” videos popping up online with increasing regularity; because people need something to hope for. At Amzim Marine and Naples Canvas & Upholstery, we never lose hope. We’re privileged to live and work in an area of the country that is historically less impacted by economic downturns and global disasters, but we know that EVERYONE feels the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. We choose to live by the words of Emily Dickenson:
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops - at all
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm
I’ve heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.”
Hope is, as she so aptly wrote, something that comes from inside all of us. With that said, external forces can bring attention to it. Sometimes it can be hard to hear that little bird, but it always sings. And for us, that bird is SINGING HARD AND STRONG AND CLEAR.
While we have closed our office doors for now to any walk-in public, behind the scenes Amzim and Naples Canvas are still going strong. In the photos below, you can see our Techs are still out there in the beautiful Florida sun working on our customer’s boats. Laz, Zach, and Brandon are still making sure that your (most effective) way of “social distancing” is up and running and performing at its best! Where we can work, we are working. While a lot of the marinas are closed to the public, they are open to mechanics (though, some limit the number of mechanics to prevent the spread). For those of you who have boats on lifts in their backyards, we are able to come out and get on it. So for those of you hoping to get out on the water, have no fear! Amzim is here!
Our sister company, Naples Canvas & Upholstery, has also been hard at work. For the past 3 weeks, they have been prodigiously producing masks (also pictured below). They’ve sourced EVOLUTION fabric, which is washable, reusable, waterproof, and breathable. With this material, they’ve created hundreds of masks for Nursing Homes, Hospitals, and emergency personnel. Even now, they are cranking out more. They’re watching out for those who watch out for us, and they are happy to bring hope to those of us who need it most.
One of the most important things to both Amzim Marine and Naples Canvas & Upholstery, is our community. When we opened our doors in 2012, Amzim Marine became a part of such a wonderful community of kind, caring, and generous people, and it has been our privilege to grow within it. We’ve watched so many happy people drive off in their brand new boats, or ride off into the sunset in a newly fixed boat. We’ve been extraordinarily lucky to say that we do business with our friends. Gary and Cindy have both received calls from some of our long time customers, just to check in and make sure that everything is going alright and that they're safe. It warms our collective hearts to know that you care as much about us as we do about you. While we’re all currently on a bumpy road together (or Alone Together, as the commercials are saying), we can’t wait to put more smiles on our community’s faces in the future! We will continue to operate, even if it is at a slightly reduced capacity. We will be transparent with you about what services we can and cannot perform due to supply chain changes. We will stay in communication with you through this, and when we get to the other side, we will be happy to embrace all of you with smiles on our faces and in our hearts.
Stay safe out there, folks!
- Your Neighborhood Friendly (but still Socially Distanced) Boat Blogger
Chris Shand
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