and sailing) as soon as he was old enough and he was now on this old, square-rigged sailboat for a
week’s training as his Christmas present from his parents.
Ye ars and years ago, according to the story Charlie had just heard, an old-time sailor had gone
crazy while on crow’s-nest duty at the top of the main mast. Any other crew member sent up to re-
lieve him of his post was attacked. In one of the scuffles that ensued the old-time sailor fell from the
top of the mast to his death. His ghost, people said, still resided in the upper reaches of the rigging,
attacking any solitary climber of the mast. As it happened there had been several mishaps of sailors
slipping from the rigging, being buffeted by unexpected winds on their ascent, or hearing terrifyingly
strange sounds through the rigging —like the scream of someone falling to his death, it was said.
Consequently, none of the crew would climb to the crow’s nest alone. They always escorted each
other up in pairs or threes. This was an unspoken rule.
Late one afternoon, as they were approaching the harbor, clouds filled the sky as light faded with
the approach of sunset. The wind howled in the rigging. Wild seas rocked the ship violently and the
captain ordered all hands on deck. They needed a lookout... and Charlie was sent to the crow’s
nest. As the rest of the crew was busy preparing to enter harbor, he had no choice but to climb alone.
Hooking his safety harness onto the rigging, he started the ascent. The wind tore at his clothes, the
mast swayed more the higher he climbed, and the stories of the old-time sailor filled his mind. Fear
struck at his heart. There might not be a ghost, he thought, but stories often have a basis of truth.
Perhaps it was a bad-luck ship. The knowledge that his safety harness was securely attached didn’t
help ease the thoughts. The fear of falling to his death like the old-time sailor refused to leave him.
What was he to do? He could descend, but disobeying orders was a serious business on a ship and
he would be the laughingstock of all the other trainees when they got into harbor. There was no other
alternative, no one free to accompany him, no way around the scary situation. No,Charlie said to him-
self, it is something I need to do, and do alone. As he climbed on, slowly, steady step by steady step up the
rope rigging, thoughts of the ghost kept coming back to him. What if he should slip from the rigging?
What if he should fall to his death? What if there was a ghost, or just the ship’s bad luck awaiting him?
Yet again he checked that his harness was securely fastened. He looked up at the crow’s nest and
he began to think how much safer he would be when he was there. He started to anticipate the calm
and peace of arriving in harbor. He remembered the feeling of achievement and exhilaration he had
felt on reaching the crow’s nest in the company of others on calmer days during the trip. Thinking
about such thoughts, he began to forget about the ghost, at least for a while.
When thoughts of the old-time sailor’s ghost and questions about whether the stories were true
popped back in his head, the terror again struck his heart. But Charlie had learned something: By
thinking about the safety and exhilaration of being in the crow’s nest, by anticipating his arrival, by
realizing that he would be the tallest person on the ship when they docked to awaiting parents and
friends, he found that the fear again began to subside.
The rigging trembled beneath him. If he let himself imagine it, it could almost feel as though a
ghost were trying to shake him off. He didn’t know whether it was the howling wind vibrating the
ropes or his own fear. No, he thought, it isn’t a ghost, and again began to think about reaching the
safety of the crow’s nest. As he climbed, the crow’s nest grew closer and closer. He chose not to look
back or think about what might happen if he fell, but rather to think about how much closer he was
getting and how much better he would feel when he arrived. When he finally stepped from the rig-
ging into the crow’s nest, he felt a sense of relief and joy.
CHANGING BEHAVIORChanging Patterns of Behavior 85