Ships that pass in the night

You can see the cruise ship near the top of the picture in the open ocean.

The small wooden ship the Monarch in the centre of the picture, heads toward the Dunedin wharf. Probably full of tourists having some thing to eat and drink. 

This evening I went up to the top of "my" Mount Cargill. As I surveyed the scene I saw two ships. One was a cruise ship already out of Otago Harbour, in the open ocean and headed South. The other was a considerably smaller ship. It was the Monarch which takes cruises up and around the harbour. They must have past each other at about the entrance to the harbour. It was getting on toward 7 p.m. and I thought of that saying we have, "Ships that pass in the night." I think it refers to short friendships in life. Is that right? I got to thinking about the people who have been and are in my life. Sometimes you can be briefly and intensely involved, but later you move to other parts and lose contact. It is sad, but inevitable often. Anyway I have been up on top of Mount Cargill hundreds of times and I never fail to enjoy the view. The first five minutes up the organ pipe track is very steep. I was just chugging along and was surprised when I found myself at the final steep stairway. I had not stopped to catch my breath and it had not seemed difficult. I must be getting a measure of fitness back again. It is good when you feel some progress.