A current lesson

We left Masonboro about 9:30 a.m. for the last leg of our trip south this season. We had sunny skies until we reached the Cape Fear River when it started raining and didn't stop until we got to Southport. We traversed another beautiful section of the ICW and the trip was mostly uneventful, though it provided a good lesson in the power of currents. We'd been moving south with the falling tide along the shore of Masonboro Island, making about 7 knots with the engine not quite running full out.

We passed the inlet from the North Atlantic between Masonboro Island and Pleasure Island, our speed promptly dropped to 4.5 knots though we didn't touch the throttle. The tide flowing back through the inlet from the north had pushed us along, but flowing back through the inlet from the south, it slowed our forward progress considerably.

We bucked the tide until we passed through Snow's Cut and into the Cape Fear, where it was once again flowing our way.

Arwen at home in North Carolina

We arrived at South Harbour Village Marina about 2 p.m. and tied up on the fuel dock while our holding tank got pumped out and while the dock master assigned us a slip. It's one we have to back into in order to get Madison off the boat.

Have I mentioned that Arwen doesn't back well? The plus is that we got to meet our friendly neighbors on D dock. They showed up to help the dock master muscle us into the slip while Robert lassoed the pilings to attach our bow lines.

It wasn't graceful, but we are secured. Once we were tied up, we headed out to a much anticipated dinner with family.

Long Live Latin
Which brings me to another subject. An email arrived a couple of days ago from my cousin Grady with the subject line "Long Live Latin." Some weeks back Grady and I got into a debate about whether Latin is a dead language, which is how it's defined by countless dictionaries, which Grady refuses to accept. Should you care to read the original point/counterpoint, it was posted Sept. 16.

Here's Grady's rebuttal:

Long Live Latin (Vivat Latine)! Hello again to my favorite sailors. Let me begin by apologizing for taking so long to respond to your missive about the health of the Latin language. I enjoyed reading your article in which you attempt to drive a stake in the heart of one of the most enduring languages of all time. Let's take a closer look at what you had to say.

Your reply was certainly well written and at first glance rather persuasive. Upon closer analysis, however, problems emerge. The essence of your position is that since Latin is no longer used as the primary means of everyday vocal communication, it is dead. This approach reminds me of politicians. I am sure that in your long career as a journalist you encountered this approach many times, maybe that is where you learned it. It goes something like this; when confronted with arguments you can't handle, define them away by using the old political sidestep. Since our current discussion started while you were talking about a walk in the woods, let's use a forest analogy to illustrate. Say we were walking through the woods and you pointed to a majestic oak tree and said, that tree is dead. Let's call that tree Latin. Whereupon I would respond, how can you call that tree dead when it has a large canopy with thousands of lush green leaves. To which you would reply (here comes the sidestep), well I was only talking about that one dead limb on the right. The essence of your argument is that we should ignore all the ways in which the Latin language, be it classical or vulgar, is alive and well and concentrate only on one aspect, its everyday use in conservation. I contend that I can grant you your contention and I have still proven that Latin is very much alive (refer to initial arguments).

Perhaps the better part of valor would be to offer you a Pax Romano. Why don't we agree that Latin is seldom used today as conservational language, but is still widely used in other means of communication. Then we can both be right.

Dilectus Consanguineus,

Grady

See, I said he was a skilled debater! And very crafty. But since he fired the initial salvo, I get the last word. Grady knows his position is weak since I cited three dictionaries all of which used Latin as an EXAMPLE of a "dead language." So, he resorts to a couple of tricks. First, he draws a false analogy - majestic oak, indeed. But let's run with it.

What we have here are stump sprouts.

Onto those stump sprouts have been grafted several whole new species called the Romance languages. Let's call Italian an ash - in Norse mythology it is the mighty tree that supports the heavens and its roots reach down to hell. It belongs to the olive family.

Let's call French a cherry - it belongs to the rose family (rose for lovers?).

But I digress...

The point is, the majestic oak was felled well over a millennium ago with the fall of the Roman Empire. As for the Classical Latin still taught in schools - dead wood. Granted, it can still be used to craft beautiful, even evocative, objects. But no sap flows through its veins.

Political ploy
Grady's second trick falls into this category: when your argument is weak, undermine the credibility of your opponent by unsavory association. In this case he accuses me of using the tactics of politicians, who rank somewhere below bed bugs in popularity these days. Now, Grady, who happens to BE an official in the Rutherford County Republican Party could perhaps rightly be associated with the tactics of politicians. I, on the other hand, spent my career getting paid to keep an eye on politicians.

Oh, and speaking of political tricks, did you notice that he even resorted to demonizing, accusing me of trying to "drive a stake into the heart of one of the most enduring languages...." You'd think I was a barbarian at the gates.

Finally, realizing he's in an indefensible position, he sends up a white flag and calls for a truce - a Roman peace - which, being a gracious victor and in the interest of familial harmony, I will grant my esteemed cousin.

Afterward
Posted Oct. 21, 2013
OK, now that I’ve declared myself the victor in this point/counterpoint and after a few days reflection, I will admit that Grady makes some good points. And in defending my throwaway comment, I learned quite a bit about how significantly Latin affected the languages we speak today. So, I'll admit it's a bit grudging, but I have to say thanks, Grady. As always, you’ve made my life more interesting.