July 23, 2006

Drizzle

A hundred days have made me older,
since the last time that I saw your pretty face
A thousand lies have made me colder
and I don't think I can look at this the same
But all the miles that separate
They disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

I'm here without you baby, but you're still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby, and I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby, but you're still with me in my dreams
And tonight, there's only you and me

(Here Without You - 3 Doors Down)

I miss my iPod. It's around here somewhere, but I've temporarily misplaced it somewhere in the Mathews County chaos. So today my solo paddle around Mason Neck kept me focused on my paddling. The on again - off again drizzle and slight breeze were encouraging as I hoped to not work up too much of a sweat.

I was reflecting on a method of course correction I've been playing with lately. It seems to work very well, but is a bit awkward to get accustomed to. Instead of sweep strokes I simply leave my paddle in the water a fraction of a second too long. To turn a bit left I leave the paddle in on the left side just long enough to feel a slight 'bump' of resistance to the water and not long enough to be construed as a stern rudder. Just a slight hesitation in bringing the paddle out of the water. To the observer there probably isn't a noticeable pause.

It seems quite effective but I still need to try it in bumpy water. No loss of speed to speak of. It just feels a bit awkward for a micro second as the paddle begins to grab water. A slight 'bump' on the left before initiating a sweep on the right seems to make the sweep much more effective.

I was paddling against a slight current - almost unnoticeable as the drizzle caused me to reflect on a near tragedy on a recent outing. We always wonder what we could have done different.

As I entered Great Marsh the Hydrilla choked the shallow bay and I found it difficult to paddle against the current running across the top of the aquatic plants. Once in the marsh each turn brought out the red-winged black birds and wood ducks took flight. The red-wings were on the wild rice and making a good bit of racket.

I couldn't go far. The marsh is heavily overgrown this time of year. I turned and enjoyed the push of the current back out to the Potomac.

About 300-400 yards offshore - I wanted to avoid the jetsam and flotsam I paddled through as I headed toward the marsh. I enjoyed the end of the ebb current and made it around High Point in no time at all. I passed another paddler heading in the other direction, and we chatted for a moment before continuing.

The breeze was nice. I zoned out for the remainder of my paddle...

I let these hard days get me down
And all the things I hate got in my way
I could of screamed without a sound
I found myself silenced by those things they say

But I woke up to real life
And I realized it's not worth running from anymore
When there was nowhere left to hide I found out
That nothings real here but I wont stop now
until I find a better part of me...

...thats out there somewhere
And it can't be that far away
That's where I'll find myself
And I'll find my way out
Thats where I'll find out

(The Real Life - 3 Doors Down)

Woody