Flemish Flake

For years I’ve scanned the nearest berths at the marina for rope circles.  Some people always stow their ropes in neat coils, while others wrap the ends around the dock cleats until they look like beehives.  On the internet there was a picture listed under knots that labeled such a rope coil the Flemish Flake.  Several years ago I began counting the circles as I walked toward the boat ramp at high tide.  There were never more than 9 or 10.  A few days ago there were 16.  I wondered if the neatnicks had shamed the lazies into curling up.  Evidently the circling habit has a powerful force far beyond the pier.  After I fell under its influence, I took a picture of my computer in the office where I had stowed the printer cable neatly out of the way.  Yes, I had succumbed to pier pressure.