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Thursday, July 17, 2008
July 17: Some Rainy Reasons to Smile
Yes, even sunny, sunny South Florida sometimes gets cloudy for a while. And rainy. In the summer, we normally get short, sudden bursts of showers, preceded and followed by … you guessed it. Sun. But we had a few unusual rainy days in a row this week. And that got me thinking about something that’s occurred to me before: really, what’s the big deal about a little rain? It’s actually quite beautiful once you get past the gloomy associations we connect with it. “Gray skies,” “dark clouds,” “rough weather.” All the metaphors for trouble make us feel as if rain means something bad. I even wrote a poem about this once.
Not only is rain beautiful, but it can make us smile. To prove the point, I offer here a few thoughts about our brief period of soggy weather. My own little “Top 10 Reasons South Florida Rain Is Good” – with sincere apologies to David Letterman.
10) You get a laugh every time you read another newspaper story about South Florida’s “drought.”
9) In a bad economy, you save serious money by buying less sunscreen.
8) For once, you don’t feel guilty about spending the whole weekend indoors watching sports on television.
7) Saves time! Not only does rain wash your car, but it fills your swimming pool!
6) No need to dress for success. Everyone is wearing their dumpy “rain clothes.”
5) You get to watch the TV weatherman apologize again – like it’s his fault!
4) You get to watch the TV anchorwoman force a laugh with the TV weatherman again – because she really thinks it IS his fault!
3) Some variety, for pete’s sake. I mean, you don’t really think we need MORE sunshine in South Florida, do you?
2) Two words: wet t-shirts.
And the number one reason why South Florida rain is good:
1) You secretly enjoy knowing the squish-squish sound you hear all day comes from your boss’s soaked Italian loafers.
And there you have it. Proof positive that dark clouds really do have silver linings. Or some goofy old thing like that. Oh by the way, in case you’re wondering about our weather today – bright, clear sunshine. Of course.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
July 16: Science and the Sea
I was impressed to learn last week that a major conference of scientists had come to town. Called the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, this was a meeting of reef scientists as well as others whose work involves our delicate coral, including divers, conservationists, fishermen and fisherwomen. These folks only hold this conference every four years and it has been more than 30 years since the group has met anywhere on the United States mainland. So it seemed to me that it was sort of a big deal. I thought that Fort Lauderdale was an especially appropriate choice. First of all, it’s a terrific convention city. I’ve been to conventions in a number of places around the country, which gives me some basis for comparison. Conventions typically are a peculiar combination of meetings and parties. You need a great space to get together and talk, but you also want something to do when the work day is done. I would find Fort Lauderdale a wonderful choice on both counts.
But beyond that, we are a diving and fishing mecca. People come from all over the world to enjoy the sea off our coastline. And finally, of course, we offer the very thing these scientists care about most – coral reefs. All in all, what spot could be better to hold this conference?
The meeting’s theme was a serious one. “Reefs for the future,” it was named. We all know that coral reefs around the world are in significant danger from pollution, overfishing, climate change and whatever else. I find it sad to think about these gorgeous living organisms suffering in this way. I’ve done a bit of diving among Florida’s coral reefs. It’s always amazing, always beautiful. But when you find just the right reef on just the right day, the experience can be stunning. Great otherwordly shapes floating freely, waving in the ocean current, radiating with the most intense purples and golds and whole palettes of colors. That’s how all these reefs should look all the time. They don’t. As more and more coral dies, sealife that depends on it for a home also is hurt and ultimately that impacts our own food chain. For these and other reasons, I'm sure everyone applauds the efforts of these scientists who are laboring to save the coral reefs. They’re doing important work. And I’m optimistic that they will succeed in the long run, quite honestly. Nature has a way of repairing itself, given a little help from us. By now, I suppose, most of the out-of-town conventioneers have left Fort Lauderdale and gone back to their labs and their ships or wherever they carry out this ecological mission. I only wish I’d bumped into a couple of them in a seaside café, though. I’d have bought them a round of drinks.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
July 10: A Lowly (but important) Subject
Sometimes I blog about cloud panoramas and ocean vistas. Sometimes I blog about luxury hotels and extraordinary restaurants. Sometimes I even blog about things as simple as a nice walk on the beach or a pleasant swim in a pool. But I can honestly say this is a first for me. Because today our topic is lowly, but nonetheless important in a civilized community. At least it’s important in a civilized community that has dogs. Perhaps you can see where I’m going with this. It’s just that our society has become dog crazy in recent years. Hey, that’s fine with me. I like dogs. And cats. I like animals generally. But when these animals live around people, they often cause a … how can I best put this? A problem. A lowly problem, if you catch my drift. But you know what? The thought struck me just yesterday that this issue is not an issue in the Fort Lauderdale area. And, lowly as it may seem, I found this realization something quite extraordinary. Not as extraordinary as the food at Cero Restaurant, let’s say – but yes, amazing in its own way.
So here I was yesterday morning, dressed up for an important appointment as head of my nonprofit group, driving on I-95 with my convertible top down. Nice morning, wind toussling my hair in some manner that I hoped would look devil-may-care by the time I parked my car. And then while still driving, sniff, sniff … What is it? Hm, wait. I know this smell. It smells – lowly.
Of course I’m trying to glance at the soles of my shoes while traveling 70 mph, an idea I quickly abandoned. But that’s when this thought hit me: I’ve lived here for 19 years and can only remember stepping in something lowly around here maybe once or twice in that whole period. Perhaps this is the kind of thing my memory tends to blot out. I’m not positive about that. But seriously, or being as serious as I can about a topic like this – it hasn’t happened often. The streets and sidewalks are astonishingly clean of such hazards, for the most part. I’m certainly not claiming this statement will hold up to scrutiny 100 percent of the time, mind you. But generally, it’s quite true, I think. My shoes would back me up on this. That has not been true other places I’ve lived. When I was a San Francisco resident, I practically rolled on the floor laughing over a TV news editorial about this very thing: “We have a problem here in our city. San Franciscans should be able to walk proudly, holding our heads high!” Funny because it was true. But not here. I have no idea why our fair metropolis seems to deal with this same civic concern more effectively. Maybe we’ve got very thoughtful dog owners. All I know is that yesterday when I got where I was going and parked my car and, yes, checked my shoes. Ta-dah! Nothing. Guess the odor was from one very smelly truck on the highway. Or maybe it was just a van full of dogs visiting from San Francisco.
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