What I learned sailing

This post was to have pictures to accompany it, however, I lost my disposable camera about five minutes after I boarded the practice sail, so word pictures will have to suffice.

I have a friend who insists that some people are called to water because of theiry fiery intensity...that the water serves as a way to balance them. I think they may be right because this was my fourth of fifth time to be on a sail boat and the same feeling that I had from the very start was with me today - I simply cannot imagine anything more peaceful than sailing. It is a sport that is both ancient and modern, difficult and simple, challenging and relaxing.

I learned today that sail boats aren't so much pushed through the water as pulled (it's a math word problem, check with a physics instructor). I learned that a small craft is more difficult to sail than a much larger one - and you'll work your crew harder on a smaller craft than a large one (think of the life parallels with that one!). I learned that steering a boat is counter-intuitive...again, much like life at times.

But the most exciting thing I learned was that there are a ton of sailing terms that I've used all my life but had no idea they came from sailing but one in particular that was significant to me. I learned that "telltale signs" comes from telltales, which are small indicators that are positioned on the sail to indicate wind direction. They literally tell a sailor how to position their sails for optimum sailing.

I asked my instructor what he thought were the most important things one needed to do before launching a boat and he replied, "make sure there is plenty of beer in the cooler, make sure you have sunscreen and make sure you have plenty of gas in the engine to get you back when your sails luff."

Tomorrow is the test for certification and then, on to the next level of compentence.

Quick: how do you destroy a centuries old artifact using a couple of things from around the house?

Answer? You strap on stilettos and smack your gum.

According to the New York Times, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus is being worn away by women in six inch heels and guests that chew gum - and leave it at the ancient amphitheater.

"This monument is very tired, " says Alexander Mandis, the chief archaeologist overseeing the Odeon. "Poking it with six inch heels and scrubing the marble to remove dried gum makes it ache more." During a recent renovation, over 60 pounds of gum was pried off seats and aisles.

More than half of the Odeon's 250,000 annual visitors are women and since stiletto heels are strengthened by a metal rod, their heels and metal tips transmit more pressure per square inch than a 6,000-pound elephant, architects and archaeologists say.

In spite of a ban on smoking, painting, chewing gum or nailing elaborate props in the theater -- sixteen restrictions in all - Greece's glitterati continue to turn up at benefit concerts draped with sparkling jewels, flowing silk gowns and stilettos clicking against the Odeon's fragile floors.

This reminds me about a story I heard about WWII. During the war, the ammunition arriving at an army base continued to show up pocked and damaged. Allies were sure that someone was sabotaging the effort and spent much time investigating. What they discovered was surprising - the bullets were being "ambushed" by the factory workers who failed to wash their hands after eating peanuts on their breaks. The salt from their hands was transferred to the bullets during manufacturing and the salt created pock marks during the shipment from US to Allies base, rendering the bullets unuseable.

Some profound meaning exists here - something like small efforts create great results or something like that. For me, I think the significance is understanding why my feet hurt so bad when I wear heels. More pressure on my pinky toe than a 6,000 pound elephant? Who knew?

(Source: Sunday, July 8 New York Times, Vol CLVI, page 9).

After weeks of making lists and journaling - and actually doing some writing - I have returned. This is less of a post and more of a "blog-gasm" with a lot of stuff that I've been thinking about all rolled into one (probably incoherent) post. Just some notes from out and about in T-town this weekend...

First, if you're in the mood for great food, check out "A" Bar and Kitchen (sorry, no web site that I could find). It is located at the corner of 34th and Peoria and is now open on
Sundays. It is a perfect place to take a sunday newspaper (I took the NY Times) and relax. I had been wanting to stop there for weeks but usually was in my post-yoga workout clothes. Today, I went anyway and the wait staff was friendly and attentive but not in a hovering kind of way.

Here's what I liked:

1 - wait staff that was attentive but let me read my paper and journal in peace. I didn't even notice when my coffee (in a great, heavy, "real-coffee- drinker's- mug" was refilled).

2 - fresh flowers were brought to my table after I sat down. Hey, a girl loves flowers anytime. I think having flowers and a great meal brought to me is something that I could get use to.

3 - Small thing but a big deal to me - the cream for my coffee was in its own decanter - none of that "peel off and dump" stuff. Great coffee deserves great creamery and a great presentation. This is where I was completely hooked. Any place that takes time with small details like this probably goes the extra mile with my entree.

4 - More on the "small is big" category: special butter for my homemade rolls, fire burning in the dining room and lots of light for my table for reading. Even though busy street is right outside, I felt like I was in my own private dining room.

Can't wait to go back. The waiter told me that every Thurs, Fri, and Sat night there is live music. Worth the trip (construction still on-going) in every way.

Movies this week

I have this theory that the modern day movie house is to our society what the camp fire was to anicent civilisation: a place to hear stories, be moved by them and maybe even changed by them. It is where the village comes together to find out about itself and what its values are and where it may be going.

If my little theory is true, then I remain pessimistic about the summer's movie fare. Since the onslought of the "summer blockbuster" it seems that essentials for good movies such as character development and storylines tend to take a back seat to the explosions and chiseled features of big stars. My answer: find any movie that Pixar is doing and go see it.

I have no idea who is running Pixar but I maintain that the most creative movies come from this little workshop. Maybe because it is animation, the creators of "Finding Nemo", "Toy Story" and now "Ratatoulee" (sp???) have to find more than big names to tell their stories. They have to have a story arc and not just a great set of abs to make the point come home. Thank goodness.

I liked "Ratatoulee" because of the story: Who hasn't stood at the outside of a circle (in this case, a french kitchen) and wanted to gain entrance? Who hasn't doubted their gifts or been unappreciated for them? Who hasn't felt called to something outside their known world and wondered, "what if I could..."

I couldn't get past one main story line problem, though. Rats in a kitchen - no matter if they cleaned up well - didn't work for me. The animation is so good that even pretend rats in a pretend kitchen gave me the heebie jeebies. When your imagination is stretched by animation, that's darn good animation. Couldn't quite make the leap but the ride was worth it.

Less good, "License to Wed". What happened to Robin Williams and the films like "Fisher King" and "Dead Poets Society"? I use to rely on him to really transport me to deep proverbial truths and now what I get from him is comic schlock. Yeah, he's funny and makes me laugh - mostly from uncomfortable, political humor but I hope he'll return to more substantial roles that make me do what I go to the movies to do: think and be challenged.

I know, I know. It's summer and all we're suppose to want out of movies is entertainment. For some of us, being changed and challenged by art is entertainment.