The Cycle of Dave

I get this call every now and then.
The phone rings and it's Dave.
"You got any cruises for me?" he says.
"I gotta get out on the water".

You see Dave used to be a big boat captain. He's not a small guy - by "big boat captain" I mean that he used to captain big boats - both sail and power - has a hundred-ton ticket. As is often the case, he bought into the idea of leading a "responsible life", and this young adventurous guy found himself stuck behind a desk. And while he liked having the ability to provide for his family, he longed to get out on a boat again.

I trained Dave to be a gondolier, and not surprisingly, he loved it. This busy guy wasn't able to commit to a consistent schedule with my office, but he made a terrific gondolier, and I owe him a debt of grattitude for helping me through one tough summer when we were short on drivers.

So every now and then my phone rings.
I do my best to get him out on a boat,
Dave shows up with a look on his face that says "I've been really stressed but I'm looking forward to relief".

Later, when I'm out during the same time and row by, I can hear Dave and his passengers talking, laughing, and having a great time. The guy has an contagious laugh, and on nights like the one I'm describing, his rediscovered sense of well-being also seems to rub off on everyone.

Two weeks later, my office manager calls me to say that "Dave hasn't come by to pick up his check". I explain to her that Dave doesn't take cruises for the pay, in fact once he even told me that I didn't need to pay him for his cruises. I tell my office manager that Dave probably won't make a special trip to the office to pick up that check, but sooner or later he'll call me again to say "You got any cruises for me?", and the whole cycle will begin again.
He can pick up the check when he comes down then.

Whether he actually deposits the check is anybody's guess.