NATURAL RESOURCES BOOK REVIEW.``The Curve of Time'' By M. Wylie Blanchet M. Wylie Blanchet, née Muriel Wylie Liffiton (2 May 1891 - 9 September 1961) was a Canadian travel writer. Born in Montreal, Quebec, and married Geoffrey Orme Blanchet on 30 May 1909. (Seal Press, 2001, $15.95) In 1926 - when most women did not yet drive, it being considered a masculine task - the widowed author took her five young children and lived on a 25-foot boat off the coast of British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography . For several summers, the family explored these vast, mostly wild waters Wild Waters is a water park in Ocala, Florida. It is the sister park of Silver Springs Theme Park in Ocala. Wild Waters features a large wave pool and children's pool area. The deck surrounding the wave pool is filled with lounge chairs. in the straits Straits: see Dardanelles; Bosporus. enveloping en·vel·op tr.v. en·vel·oped, en·vel·op·ing, en·vel·ops 1. To enclose or encase completely with or as if with a covering: "Accompanying the darkness, a stillness envelops the city" Vancouver Island Vancouver Island (1991 pop. 579,921), 12,408 sq mi (32,137 sq km), SW British Columbia, Canada, in the Pacific Ocean; largest island off W North America. It is c.285 mi (460 km) long and c. . And the author, a pioneering travel writer of that era who died more than 40 years ago, faced her new life head-on. ``We neither anticipated (adventures) nor tried to avoid them,'' she wrote in this classic memoir that recently has been republished. ``We just accepted them as a normal part of the increasing number of miles we logged every summer.'' In doing so, she displayed a courage and dignity that resonates and inspires today - a single mother making nakedly dangerous life-and-death decisions calmly, wisely, while teaching her children a deep respect for the natural world and their own family. - Michael A. Anastasi ON THE INTERNET --Enter the dragon: Dragon Boat racing is among the most popular in the world. It's mainly an Asian phenomenon, but there is a Bay Area-based California Dragon Boat Association Web site (www.cdba.org/). The sport goes back 2,000 years to Southern China, when as the Web site explains: ``Legend has it that Qu Yuan Qu Yuan or Ch'ü Yüan (born c. 339, Quyi, China—died 278 BC, Hunan) Chinese poet. Born into the ruling house of Chu, in youth Qu Yuan was a favourite of the region's ruler. , a scholar and adviser to the emperor of the Chu Kingdom, jumped into the Mei Lo (Mi Luo) River in despair and protest against government corruption. Local fishermen raced out in their boats to save him. They beat drums and pounded their paddles on the river's waters and threw rice dumplings wrapped in silk into the river to distract the water dragons and keep them from eating from Qu Yuan's body.'' Now the races are less savage in their nature. Canoe-like crafts made of fiberglass and wood are painted in splashy splash·y adj. splash·i·er, splash·i·est 1. Making or likely to make splashes. 2. Covered with splashes of color. 3. Showy; ostentatious. See Synonyms at showy. colors with a dragon's head at the bow and its tail along the stern. As many as 20 paddlers work together aided by a banging drum. The site claims it to be one of the world's fastest growing sports. There are plenty of links to get more information on the International Dragon Boat Racing site (www.dragon-boat.net/). Included are dozens' of clubs around the country and the world. - Chris Cocoles CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: no caption (book:``The Curve of Time'') Box: ON THE TUBE |
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