TheBanyanTree: rowing

[Sachet]

Simply profoundly beautiful, Jules. I am so glad that you have moments 
like this to savor what you enjoy and makes your soul sparkle.

On 9/7/2012 12:06 PM, Teague, Julie Anna 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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