AMERICA'S CUP: back page news?

I may well be the only person in Rhode Island who doesn't know how to sail. It wasn't part of my childhood, and prior to my mid-adulthood I didn't know a single person who talked about sailing. Looking back on it, I suspect there were some friends who sailed, but, as I have said, they didn't talk about it...at least around me.

My first experience with sailing came in the early 80's when a friend took my family out on a magnificent sailing vessel to sail around Little Cranberry Island off the coast of Maine. I was scared to death. When the ship keeled up and I found myself parallel to the surface of the water my prayer life improved dramatically. Later sailing experiences on one of the Finger Lakes proved less harrowing, but I found myself more comfortable below with a wine cooler than on the deck. I discovered that I have a natural fear of the water, probably dating back to an experience of my childhood when I came close to drowning. (A future blog posting.)

Consequently, my knowledge of sailing and my awareness of its finer moments is limited. However, living in Rhode Island means knowing that the America's Cup races are happening. Newport is the spiritual home of the America's Cup and many of the winning vessels over the past 33 races have been built in Bristol. We spend a lot of time in Newport these days, so my interest in the America's Cup is somewhat higher than one might have expected.

When the victory of the BMW Oracle was relegated to the back page of the Providence Journal sports section, therefore, I was shocked. Basketball, hockey, baseball and Olympic news filled the pages while the announcement that the United States had re-captured the America's Cup was found on the back page, and the article was lifted from another source.

I had to wonder what the sailing community in Rhode Island would have to say about this. As one of the more successful industries in a state with a miserable economy, it is inconceivable that this historic event, comparable to the World Series in baseball, the Masters Tournament in golf, and the NCAA Final Four in basketball, was not covered and was not given a more prominent place in the paper.

It remains to be seen whether the letters to the editor will pick up on this theme, or whether the sailing community has given up on the Journal altogether and doesn't really care.

Photo Courtesy: http://www.bmw.com/

BLIZZARD: a storm with dry, driving snow, strong winds, and intense cold.

Today we are in the midst of a blizzard. It was predicted two days ago, but even the meteorologists didn't know for sure how significant it would be. It all depended upon whether this offshore storm stayed the course or turned and went out to sea. It stayed the course. The latest forecasts call for 12-18 inches of snow before the storm is over.

This morning the world around us is covered with snow and those who demand a White Christmas are more relaxed. Those of us who aren't enamored with snow have co-opted their anxiety, trying our best to calculate just how long it will stay around.

I was surprised to hear the meteorologist, T.J. DelSanto, from the local CBS-TV affiliate, define a blizzard as having more to do with wind than snow. It turns out, according to him, that a winter snow storm with sustained winds above 35 miles per hour is a blizzard. I always thought it had more to do with the amount of snow. It doesn't. So much for my amateurish understanding of the word.

My adolescent image of blizzards comes from literature more than any other place. Stories of cowboys stranded out on the plains in blizzards. Sea captains trying to stay afloat during blizzards. Families seeking refuge in isolated farm houses during a blizzard. You get the drift.

It makes for good writing. The thrill of trying to get to safety before the storm hits. The valor of a horse or a dog who lead the way to a protected space. The cave found just in time, occupied, of course, by a cougar. And, of course, the stranded family in the isolated farm house is going to come face to face with a crazed murderer.

In reality, blizzards such as the one we are experiencing have more to do with automobile accidents, power outages, events cancelled (including Church services?), and farm animals needing food. True Rhode Islanders have rushed to the supermarket to get bread and milk, and have hunkered down in front of a fireplace, convinced that everything is under control.

There is tragedy and there is poetic beauty. Most of all there is a renewed sense of quiet, broken only by the crashing sound of a snow plow on a neighboring street and the scraping of a snow shovel on a neighbor's sidewalk. No planes overhead, no speeding traffic on the Interstate, no trucks delivering goods to local customers. Just quiet.

The blizzard will pass and normality will return. In the meantime, our frenetic pre-Christmas pace is brought to a grinding halt. Not a half-bad thing to happen.


Dictionary Credit: Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009
Photo Credit: Joel Achenbach