|
16 july 2003
currently reading
They Cleared the Lane: The NBA's Black Pioneers, by Ron Thomas. Everyone knows that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. This book tells the fascinating, little-told stories of those who did it for the NBA. Great book.
A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn. I'm only about a third of the way through this book, but I can already tell you that it's one of the best I've read in awhile. Engaging and detailed, this is everyone else's history: Native Americans, women, child laborers, and the poor. Zinn does an outstanding job of balancing what we learned in high school textbooks with a less glorified discussion of our country's oft-violent, imperialist past.
current listening
Light a Rainbow (Whippenburg Mix), Johnny Vicious. I'll pass on the X, thanks.
|
avast ye scurvy redhead
Happy birthday toooooooo meeeeeeeee... Less than a month away--I know! Um...these are super-swell. Every quirky young woman needs a new pair of lug-soled saddle oxfords. Long live Muffy!
My county is flooding as I write this. We're getting about 6 inches of rain this evening. Hell, our entire state is flooding. Emergency warnings all over the place. Think good thoughts, Denizens--I live at the bottom of a big hill. Let's hope I'm not blogging from a shelter tomorrow, hm?
_______________________________________
If you see me this week, keep a ten-foot distance. Just do what I say, and no one gets hurt.
Remember that old Christopher Cross song, "Sailing"? To recap:
It's not far down to paradise
At least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me...
Tranquility. Check.
Several months ago, I told you guys about my first-ever adventure in a sailboat. During said adventure, I even successfully steered the sailboat. This weekend, I enjoyed my second real sailing adventure. This upcoming week, I will be purchasing my first-ever sailing book, Hey, Moron--Don't Let Go of the Rudder. Thaaaaaaaat's right. Put me on the short schoolbus and drive me to the lake. I'm going to learn this if it...er...let's hold that thought for now.
For the first time this season, we had good sailing weather. We finally got a break from this three-month monsoon, and it was super-windy outside. We packed a small cooler, put the boat together (I think we hoisted something and attached stuff, but for now you're stuck with "put the boat together"), and hopped in. Cap'n Sailboat pulled a rope, steered the rudder, and off we went!
Like I said, it was really windy on Saturday. On an extra-windy day in a Sunfish (small, two-person sailboat), the two people need to sit so the boat is balanced. The cap'n's side of the boat generally sits higher out of the water. The passenger's butt is generally in the water. Which is primo motivation to get myself in cap'n mode real quick--dry butt. The passenger has one other job, and that is to hold on. Tightly. The lake was extra-choppy, too, and I must say that Cap'n Sailboat did an admirable job of keeping us from capsizing.
He did not need my assistance is steering the boat.
Naturally, I offered.
Let me preface this by saying that I'm a former lifeguard and quite capable when canoeing and rafting. If you give me oars, I will propel the boat and everyone will get to their destination. Know what? NONE OF THAT MATTERS IN A SAILBOAT. I asked if I could steer the rudder.
Cap'n Sailboat, being infinitely smarter than me about most things, but most definitely this thing, is hesitant.
"It's really windy and choppy out here. Pretty hard to control the boat. You sure you want to?"
"Sure. I did fine last time, right?"
(Long pause, tightening grip on rudder) "Uh...sure. Yeah, okay, why don't you take that part, and I'll hold this part. If something happens, I'll take over again."
I grabbed my part of the rudder stick and began to steer, although "steering' would be an overstatement. I began to send us in the wrong direction, and couldn't get a good feel for the right direction. It sure was windy outside! Maybe he shouldn't have let me steer after all....
After a wobbly few moments of this, I'm not sure what happened. Cap'n let go of the rudder and I had no clue what to do with the rudder steer-er that I was holding? I sneezed and panicked? I spotted an alligator? Yes, that's it. I spotted an alligator and we were in imminent danger! My plan, as it were, was to break off the rudder stick and beat the alligator senseless! Bad alligator! Let go of Cap'n's leg! And then I totally saved the day! It rocked--you guys would have been totally proud of me.
Except for the fact that there was no alligator, I have no idea why I let go of the rudder, the boat did a 180, and the boom thunked me on the head ow. (Note: The boom is the horizontal pole that holds onto the sail and hits you in the head.) I didn't want to look up into his face for a moment. I bet he was pretty upset with me. Not yet seeing a rock tied to my ankle, I finally looked at him.
He was a little stunned, and asked if I was alright. He didn't tell me what a dope I was, or even ask what I was (not) thinking. Stuff like this happens. You learn the hard way. It doesn't happen overnight. He said all sorts of things to make me feel better, reminding me that he's been sailing since he was a kid. And it helped some...but still. Getting bonked by a boom does not sit well with me when I want to do something well, and right now!
He steered for the rest of the trip. It was a very good sailing trip. I was a good passenger, enjoying the ride with my wet butt, but passing up any beer. As if I needed beer.
We made it back safely, and even slowly, as the wind calmed significantly. I'm still getting the book this week, but I think I'll stay in passenger mode for a good while. At least until I finish chapter three.
In related news this week, a screw fell out of my glasses this week and the lens popped out. I finally fixed it tonight, thanks to a new screw and a drop of super glue. I cut my finger doing the fix. Earlier today, I smashed my thumb between the freezer and refrigerator doors, between the metal parts. And yesterday, I stepped on a fire ant mound while watching an alligator swim in the canal. It was only my quick realization that I'd "stepped in something" that kept the ants from swarming my bare ankles, at which moment I began stepping on my own foot and scraping them off with a nearby stick.
I wish I could tell you that this week has been unusually accident-prone, but that's really not true. I bust myself up pretty regularly, though mildly. Minor stuff. I know my limits. I get my bagels pre-cut at the store. I drill instead of hammer. I own two pairs of safety glasses, two first aid kits, and a personal fire extinguisher. After tonight, I may own sandbags.
Until next time, you might want to take a few steps back....
_______________________________
Confidential to Rather Not...: Thanks!
|
