Here's To the Polar Bears!

" Think it's time to go in the water?"



Maybe it has something to do with the Eastern European heritage...or maybe it has something to do with a Scandinavian heritage since those people are noted to roll around in snow following a stint in the sauna. Whatever it is about the people who live in Northeast Wisconsin, there is this undeniable urge to hit the water come January 1st and enter into membership in a polar bear club somewhere. The Milwaukee version started in the early 1900's, and it's spread to so many locations that it has become routine and hardly worthy of note. As a result, I don't feel the urge to join them even though the press gets all over it every year with photos, video and interviews...after all, with Lambeau covered for the winter in snow, there's not much news to report of a local nature.
This year I did manage to spend time in the water during the last week in December. I didn't expect any publicity since there were a few thousand people on the beach at the same time, not all of them brave enough to tackle the frigid water of Miami Beach. Truth be told, the beach sand was coarse and gritty, and there was an unknown material floating in the water, much like the algae in Algoma most of the year so I felt at home. Splashing bravely into the surf to the astonishment of, well, nobody, since hundreds were in as well, I felt like a polar bear since it was so close to the new year; however, with a water temperature of, maybe, 75 and an air temperature in the 80's, I guess I'd be more akin to a manatee than a polar bear. Yes, it's true...I was almost uncomfortably warm for five days.
As I did my best David Hasselhoff imitation running through the waves, I couldn't help but smile. Living dangerously, I did not apply sunscreen and dodged the UVA and UVB rays with abandon as I frolicked with porpoises and manatees. Cruise ships were leaving port for extended stays in the Carribean, but I was not a bit envious: I had my blanket, my beach towel, my iPod, and life was good.
I had never before ventured somewhere warm during the Christmas break, but this year I had a reason to go: Blaine's team was playing in a tournament at the U. of Miami, and that was excuse enough for us to head south. Cervezas by the pool and refreshing breezes from the ocean occupied many pleasant hours, and I seldom gave any thought to my previous life except to check on the Packers' score on Sunday when the Lions were reaching toward futility immortality. Otherwise, just being outside in shorts and a T-shirt made it hard to believe that I was in the same country that I'd left a scant few hours earlier.
No S.A.D. for me this year!
More on the trip later, but the sun deserves its own space for its contribution to the first annual Miami Manatee Plunge.