Look at Your Wake

So there's this boat. And its a pretty decent boat, inboard/outboard motor, 250 hp, mint condition. This is your boat, and you are pretty pleased with it. So, you take your boat out, and warm her up, and you're cruising, and life is good. You hit some waves but you go right on through them without looking back.

There's a bunch of other boats out on the water today, but you're more in the mood for lots of open water. So you bypass them all with a burst of speed as your greeting.

Your tank is running low and so you head towards the closest marina to fuel up. Your are really running low so you speed toward the dock and a marina employee runs out to assist you. You pull up to the dock and the guys says,

"Man! What are you doing? Look at your wake!"

And you're thinking, "what the heck is a wake"? So you give the guy a blank stare and he points behind you. You look back and discover just what a wake is, and what it can do. Turns out as far as wakes go, your boat's got a pretty big one. The surrounding boats in the marina are being hit by your wake and smash against their docks. You realize how wide your wake is, how far it reaches and how long its affects last. You can even follow your wake back aways, still marked by bubbles, churning water, and smaller waves rolling out the sides. Thinking back you realize you've had this wake ever since you started up this boat, and your desire for open water meant you had to rock a few boats to get there.

This boat is your life.

Look at your wake.