Fitness Equipment

A week or so ago I received an email from someone called Sean at CSN Stores who suggested that he would like to offer a "giveaway" on my blog. A brief exchange of emails solidified the proposal. He would provide a $75 CSN Stores gift certificate for me to give away to readers (in any way I chose) in exchange for my writing a blog post with a link titled "drop leaf table" which, not surprisingly, linked to a CSN Stores page selling some tables.

Whaaaaat?

This is a sailing blog. Why would sailors be interested in drop leaf tables? Indeed, why would sailors be interested in buying anything from CSN Stores which seems to specialize mainly in furniture, home decor, etc. Sean wanted me to introduce the phrase "drop leaf table" as naturally as possible in the flow of a post narrative. Huh? In a sailing post?

But, hey, I love my readers. Without you I would be nothing but an old geezer with three grandkids and a 15-year-old Laser. You deserve that $75 gift certificate. Well, one of you does. So I took up the challenge.

So, how could I work this blog around to a casual mention of drop leaf tables? That's why I started that whole Furniture and Sailing theme last week.

You, my wonderfully inventive readers, responded beyond my expectations. We had a table with an outboard motor, an Optimist bed, and a guitar boat, to name just a few. I wrote a post about learning to sail on your dining table which led, perfectly naturally (I thought) ... to the drop leaf table post.

There remains the issue of why the hell would you want a $75 gift certificate from CSN Stores. What could you possibly want to buy from them?

Well, we all know that physical fitness is important to success in sailing. Right? Especially Laser sailing. One of the 200+ CSN Stores is dedicated to Fitness Equipment.

If I won the $75 gift certificate (which of course I can't) here are some of the things I might consider buying from CSN Stores...

An exercise bench.


Some yoga DVDs.




A rowing machine.



Ooh! She's cute. I don't suppose CSN Stores offer in-house demonstrations?

Anyway. After all my blood, sweat and tears, not to mention brilliant creative thinking, to work the phrase "drop leaf table" into a sailing blog purely for your benefit, the least you can do in return is to enter the bloody draw. There is bound to be something you want from CSN Stores.