I'm Jealous

Jealousy, envy, dare I say coveting.Jealousy may not be a virtuous thing, but we all experience it now and then.  If you've spent enough time here on the Gondola Blog, you'll recognize it as one of the ways I like to pay someone a compliment.
Instead of saying "I like your sandolo", the statement "I'm jealous of your sandolo" gives more meaning, as if to say "I wish I had your sandolo". 
If delivered correctly, the message could even convey "I might just steal your sandolo - that's how much I like it".

So in this post, I'm going to take time to pay some compliments through jelousy...

Boston - I'm envious of your "accordion team", you have the youngest wedding gondola in America, and I'm jealous of the fact that you get to row within walking distance of the "Cheers Bar" and that in the off-season you give snomobile tours. Gondola di Venezia has lots to be jealous of.

Coronado - Sean, I'm jealous of your gondolino (might just try and tip-toe away with her on my back), the best passenger caorlina I've ever seen, and any gondola operator worth his salt ought to be jealous of the solid group of gondoliers at The Gondola Company.

Providence - I'm jealous of your workshop,. I've never seen it, but from what I've heard (about a whole ground floor dedicated to workspace, with the residence on the second floor), I'm already envious of the squero-like arrangement.  This isn't the first time I've been jealous of somethiing in Providence - Years ago I visited the operation of La Gondola and saw with my own eyes, the finest finish I've ever seen on a gondola.

New Orleans - I must say that I have great admiration for Robert Dula, and his unyielding dedication.  I don't envy him for the challenges he's faced.  It's his resolve. If you haven't read the post "Oblivion" which was written by Robert, take a few minutes and do so.  The gondolier at Nola Gondola has tenacity in spades.

Sunset - Tim and his Sunset Gondola staff have one of the coolest kiosk offices, the largest Venetian Republic flag I've seen in the US, and an all-Venetian fleet, But it's the pupparin that I covet at Sunset Gondola.

Minneapolis - Northern operators like John Kerschbaum at Gondola Romantica don't do cruises year-round, so they haul their boats out of the water and store them for the winter months.  I'm not jealous of that, but I sure do wish I had the kind of property that John has, where he can just roll boats around his yard, sand, grind, and make all kinds of noise without a "Van Halen birthday party" response from the local authorities.

New York - Andres Garcia Pena gets to row in Central Park.
I'd take that job in a heartbeat.

The list could go on, and I could make another one for european gondoliers.  And then there's Venice.

In some cases this kind of jealousy can be good - it can inspire me to do better.  I'd love to be able to paint like Marco in Providence.
On the other hand, Sean, if you see me trying to creep away with that gondolino, well then you'll know that I eventually gave in to the dark side of jelousy.

At the end of the day though, I realize how blessed I am that I get to row the boats I have, in the places I do.  Life is good.