Georgy Girls

 

Christopher Spangler photo

     Georgy Girl was a 1966 romantic comedy starring Lyn Redgrave. It featured a bouncy, hummable title song by The Seekers. I've never seen the movie but for some reason the song has stuck with me. Maybe that's why my first thought upon seeing this photo was "These are the new 'Georgy Girls'". Lake Georgy girls to be precise.

     In these pandemic times the masks need no explanation but maybe the pose does. The four women are whimsically demonstrating their swim stroke, a motion that served each well in recent Lake George swims. You may already be familiar with these athletes and their accomplishments. Perhaps you have read about them in local media. What's extraordinary is to see them all together, clearly enjoying each others company. 

     That's Louise Rourke on the left. In 2018 she did a relay swim of the lake that raised well over $100,000 towards eradicating polio. Louise was stricken by the disease as a young child (notice the leg brace) but has overcome its debilitating effects to lead a full, productive life. She has a deep love for Lake George and has written a memoir about growing up with polio and how liberating swimming has been for her. Watch for Louise's book which should be available soon. 

     Next to Louise is Bridget Simpson who partnered in the Swim for Polio and who also completed a solo swim in 2017. Bridget is a Ticonderoga resident who often swims from the Tiroga Beach. In my humble opinion this Washington County gem is the best beach on Lake George. Always looking for a challenge, Bridget has become fascinated with the idea of doing an 'Ice Mile'.

     The girl looking at the world thru rose colored glasses is Charlotte Brynn. She's originally from New Zealand but has been living in Vermont for some time. This summer Charlotte set dual records becoming both the oldest (at 54) and the fastest (just under 18 hours) to swim the lake.

Charlotte Brynn and Gwenne Rippon

Christopher Spangler photo

     Finally, that's Caroline Block on the right. She's done the only double crossing of the lake to date. 'Crossing' can be a bit confusing when it comes to Lake George. Many who spend time on the lake might think of crossing as going from shore to shore, east to west or vice versa, a distance of several miles on this long but narrow water. But in distance swimming parlance that's not what crossing means. Block actually swam end to end - a distance of 32+ miles - and then turned around without stopping to swim back another 32+ miles, spending over 52 hours in the water!

     The photo was taken last month at a book launch event in Lake George Village. Gwenne Rippon's Called by the Water - When Diane Struble Swam Lake George is about her mom's historic first swim of the lake in 1958. One of Struble's favorite sayings was "You never know who you might inspire". When you look at these four women I think it's safe to say that Struble inspired some pretty amazing people. I'm hopeful these swimmers will inspire a new generation to both protect the lake and rise to its challenge in the years to come.

Christopher Spangler photo

      

     In the photo above Andrea MacGloin is signing as Gwenne  speaks about her book. Caroline Block is hearing impaired and needed a little help to catch the stories about Struble, swimming and the lake. It struck me how someone can be so talented (Block has a doctorate, is about to take the bar exam and obviously has phenomenal endurance) yet still have disabilities. We all have strengths and limitations. Maybe it's the attitudes we bring to them that make a difference. 

     I like author and swimmer Sally Friedman's idea from her book Swimming the Channel: "...the feeling that this is what we do best, the most we can offer to those we have loved...". May we all offer to the world that which we do best while taking inspiration from others who do the same.

Louise speaking as Andrea signs

Christopher Spangler photo

     All the photos here were taken by Christopher Spangler/Down to Earth Aerial courtesy of Rotary International. Rotary has also sponsored Louise Rourke and is helping with the publication of her book. Many thanks to Rotary.

Month of Two Moons

     October is the best of months. Neon leaves against a deep blue sky. Crisp cool air and warm sunshine. Time for both outdoor campfires and indoor wood stoves. The smell of wood smoke. Paddling, biking, hiking. Maybe even one last swim. Oktoberfests with sausage and beer!

     Well, maybe no Oktoberfests this strange year. How about a lunarfest instead? Actually two of them because this October hosts two full Moons, one on the first and one on the thirty-first. I plan on toasting both of them with a beer and maybe even a sausage.

     In honor of this two Moon month I've dug up a few interesting facts about our closest celestial neighbor along with a few neat images gleaned from the web.

🌕   At the beginning of this month we have the Harvest Moon and at the end is the Hunters Moon. The names originated with Native Americans. The second of two full Moons in a month is also sometimes called a Blue Moon. Only happens every couple of years, thus "Once in a Blue Moon". 

Tim McCord photo

🌕   The Moon takes about 29.5 days to orbit the Earth. This is called the synodic month. It is directly opposite the Sun and fully illuminated once every orbital cycle. Thus every month except February could occasionally host a 'Blue Moon'.

The Earth on left and the Moon on right to scale in size and distance

From wikipedia

🌕   It takes 1.28 seconds for light to travel from the Moon to Earth.  All of that light originated from the Sun. While appearing very bright against the dark night sky, the Moon's reflectance is only a little more than that of asphalt.

Same Moon, different side

🌕   The Moon rotates on its axis in the same amount of time it takes to orbit around the Earth. That's the reason it always shows the same side to us. Until spacecraft visited no one had ever seen the far side.

🌕   In a serendipitous coincidence the Sun and the Moon appear to be the same size as seen from Earth. In fact, the Sun is much larger but also much farther away. Solar eclipses are possible because the Moon can cover the Sun when they align perfectly. Since the Moon is very slowly (inches per year) moving away from us, at some point in the distant future eclipses will all be annular with a bright ring of the Sun showing around the Moon, rather than total with the Sun's disk completely blocked.  

    

Looking East

🌕   While the Moon is full on Thursday, October 1 be sure to watch on Friday night to see the Moon and Mars right next to each other.

It may be a starry night but the Moon is prominent in the upper right of

Vincent van Gogh's famous painting

  🌕   It seems like the Moon shows up more in arts and culture than it does in the sky. Moonstruck is the 1987 romantic comedy starring Cher and Nick Cage, while Moonlight won the 2016 Best Picture Award and Moonlighting was a popular TV show of the 1980's. Moonshine refers to corn liquor made in the hollows of Appalachia. It was done late at night, under the cover of darkness with only the Moon for illumination, thus the name. Always brings to mind Steve Earle's Copperhead Road song. And speaking of songs, how about Moonriver from Breakfast at Tiffany's and Van Morrison's Moondance. Finally, what parent hasn't lulled their little one to sleep reading the classic Goodnight Moon?  

  

🌕   I'll close with one last memory. In my younger days I spent some time (probably too much time) over at the Oasis, a roadhouse bar near Hedges Lake. When the Moon was bright I'd often go up over Shields Road to take in the view of the Taconics folds and ridges. Then it was down to the 'O' for beer and rock 'n roll. When the band went on break the crowd would empty out into the parking lot to cool off and get some fresh air. Invariably we got something else. A car would drive by on Rt. 22 honking its horn and sticking out the back window would be the bare part of someone's anatomy that should never see the light of day (or the dark of night for that matter). Ah, 'Mooning', idle pastime of a lost generation...