TheBanyanTree: rowing

[Mike Pingleton]

Love it, Jules.  Crane, obviously, actually spent time in an open boat.

Regardless of how you propel yourself, time upon the waters is well-spent.
-Mike

On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 11:06 AM, Teague, Julie Anna <jateague at indiana.edu>wrote:

>
> "None of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level, and
> were fastened upon the waves that swept toward them. These waves were of
> the hue of slate, save for the tops, which were of foaming white, and all
> of the men knew the colors of the sea."
>
> These are the first two lines from Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat".
>  Here's how I experienced them this morning.  I signed up to row, as did
> several other people, making us a party of six, which meant a quad (four
> person boat) and a double or two singles.  Beginners are supposed to stick
> to quads.  The quads are more stable and the beginners can be in the 2-seat
> and 3-seat (middle of the boat) with more experienced rowers taking bow and
> stroke positions. The stroke position sets the stroke, the bow position
> looks over his or her shoulder--the rowers face the back of the boat--and
> calls commands for steering and turning.
>
> I carpooled to the lake with my sometimes running buddy, Dave, who is also
> a rower.  When we got there, two of the rowers had already gone out in a
> double, and two didn't show.  So that left us to abandon our row or take
> out a double--a promotion of sorts for me.  I was a bit nervous, but Dave
> is a very experienced rower, so I figured we'd be fine.  It was a
> stunningly beautiful morning.  Dense fog hung in the trees all around the
> edges of the lake.  The lake was just being stained pink and purple by the
> rising sun.  The trees were a heavy blue line, like at the edges of
> mountains.  I could just imagine the Smokies rolling up and up just behind
> the trees.  Of course my beloved Smokey Mountains weren't just beyond the
> trees, hiding in the mist, but they were easy to imagine.  The morning and
> the lake and the trees had a mountain look about them.
>
> When I am rowing, being new to the sport, I have to stay focused to keep
> all of the parts of the move working--square, catch, drop, drive, slide,
> feather, arms away, body over.  The whole thing needs to be smooth,
> powerful, and completely in unison with the other rowers. It's a beautiful
> thing, but it takes concentration.  Today, since I as in the stern of the
> boat, I could see a bit more lake and sunrise and glinting water than usual
> and still keep my eyes on what I was doing.  We stopped to catch our breath
> for a minute in the middle of the lake and I commented on the beauty of the
> morning.  Dave, as I mentioned, a very experienced rower, said that he,
> too, had to stay pretty focused and then quoted Stephen Crane, of the men
> rowing in the open boat out on the ocean, "None of them knew the color of
> the sky."  In that moment, the words were so evocative.  Exactly the
> feeling, exactly the right words to describe the focus on the movement of
> rowing, the click of the squaring of the oars, the shuushing of the slide
> mechanism.  The sky, glowing and smoking and pinking all around is becomes
> almost something you move through, rather than gaze at, while rowing.
>
> I had to rush back and find the book.  I haven't read Stephen Crane since
> high school.  Maybe junior high.  And I'm reading these words with a
> feeling in my soul like I've not experienced for awhile from the first
> paragraph of a book. What beauty and sparseness in those first two
> sentences.  The words popped and sparked in my head.  I could feel the in
> my bones that there was no more perfect way to set that scene with all the
> feeling and atmosphere.
>
> I don't know, I'm raving a little.  But it was all such a wonderful
> experience, all the parts of it together.  I can't wait to get home tonight
> and read.  I can't wait to find myself out on the lake again in a rowing
> shell.
>
> Julie
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