Red Tug was written in memory of my cousin Nancy, a garrulously warm, raccoon-and-possum hunting, chain-smoking, retired nurse whom I discovered online via a genealogical hunt. Nancy sent me a yard sale ceramic cartoon red tugboat as a gift, steeped in the scent of cigarettes.  Unfortunately it broke during a cross-country move. Whenever I see red tugs pass by now along the Hudson, I think of her.