Published Sunday, August 02, 2009 12:09 AM

By DONNIS BAGGETT

It’s a slow Saturday night in the newsroom, and I’m waiting on some stories to edit. In the meantime, I’m daydreaming about exotic vacations.

So far this year the most exotic place I’ve visited was Austin, where weirdness is carefully cultivated in all things. I’ve journeyed to Denver, Wisconsin and Galveston, too, but none of those destinations would exactly peg the needle on the exotic scale.

Exotic, as in Iraq. Which is apparently a destination for tourists who like to experience life close to the line. Literally.

In today’s paper you’ll see a story about three American tourists arrested by Iranian guards after crossing the border from Iraq. The Iranians say the Americans ignored warnings from their border guards. Officials in northern Iraq said the two men and one woman crossed into Iranian territory by mistake while hiking in the mountains.

Either way, it must have been a monumental aw-shucks moment.

I’m a sucker for mountain scenery myself, but there’s plenty of territory in the Rockies I still need to see. It’ll be a cold day in August before you catch me communing with nature along the Iraq-Iran border. Or the border between South Korea and North Korea, for that matter.

I won’t be booking a trip to Afghanistan, either, although the Afghans are marketing their tourism industry now. If I decided to fork over the green to go hiking halfway around the world, I’d hoof it to New Zealand. Far as I know, New Zealanders don’t blow up folks who happen to come from a different tribe or religion.

After I hiked New Zealand, I’d take a walkabout in Australia while I was in the neighborhood. And on the way home, maybe go scuba-diving in Tahiti and shoot some wildlife photography in the Galapagos.

Scotland and Ireland are on my bucket list of places to visit, too. And oh, yeah, Switzerland and Scandinavia. But the Balkans or the Middle East? Unh-unh. Not my cup of tea, thank you.

Seems every few months we hear about Americans getting themselves in a mess by popping up somewhere Yanks aren’t wanted. Or by visiting a country where we are wanted — for hostages.

This always stirs up a big international stink, and the State Department spends months trying to get the unfriendly nation’s panties out of a wad. Eventually they get most of the stray Americans home so they can get interviewed by Larry King.

And every time it happens, we wonder: What were they thinking?

I suppose some folks do it for the adrenaline rush, not to mention bragging rights around the water cooler.

“Where’d you go on vacation this summer, Joe?”

“Disney World. How ’bout you, Bill?”

“Oh, this year we did Zimbabwe. Wanted to catch Somalia, too, but the in-laws had a cow over that piracy thing. They think an exotic vacation is Galveston.”

* Donnis Baggett is editor-in-chief of The Eagle. His e-mail address is donnis.baggett@theeagle.com.

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For people with physical disabilities, gravity is something to be struggled against; moving about takes concentration and requires special tools such as wheelchairs, canes and other helpful technology.

Once in the water, however, gravity is lessened and handicapped patients can move more freely, not only loosening limbs but opening the psyche.

A scuba dive industry pioneer’s $1 million gift to the Florida Keys Community College has drawn rehabilitation and physical therapy groups interested in helping their patients learn mobility and breathing exercises in the college’s dive lagoon.

For instance, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, which treats patients with cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury as well as victims of stroke and traumatic brain injury, has been using the lagoon to relieve patients of the forces of gravity on their bodies — if only temporarily.

The institute’s Diveheart program introduces patients with physical disabilities to weightlessness, allowing them to move with less effort. Patients can achieve greater mobility in limbs than on land, thus working muscles they have difficulty moving otherwise.

“The kids we’re bringing down are from several states, including Oklahoma, Kansas, Michigan, all over the Midwest,” Diveheart Director Jim Elliott said before their visit this week. “They all have spinal injuries and are in wheelchairs. If you can imagine how hard it would be to be in a car accident or injured and not be able to walk again, our hope is that the kids will find a passion in scuba diving and perhaps pursue careers in underwater photography or marine science. Instead of having sedentary time in front of a TV, they’ll hopefully get on a computer and research the possibilities of a future in underwater.”

A class of children he brought last week, all between 12 and 20 years of age, first stopped in Key Largo for classroom instruction and to don scuba gear in a pool, then dove in the college’s lagoon.

“We’re going to take them out of their wheelchairs and teach them how to fly,” he said.

Diveheart and the college came together after the James E. Lockwood estate donated $1 million to the school’s dive program in May. Lockwood, who built his own scuba rebreathers in 1938 and developed underwater camera housings used in the Tarzan movies of the 1930s, bequeathed gifts to the college, Diveheart and Shake-A-Leg Miami.

Shake-A-Leg, which also works with disabled and poor people who don’t easily get the chance to swim and dive, also plans to use the lagoon.

“We try to energize the kids, improve self-confidence and improve their quality of life,” spokeswoman Cindy Perantoni said. “These youngsters are also poorer kids who usually don’t have the opportunity to experience swimming and diving in the Keys or elsewhere.”

The donation and the lagoon could help the college develop programs for disabled veterans in the Keys and elsewhere.

“We plan to continue working with Diveheart and Shake-A-Leg to provide diving opportunities and equipment so they can heal and experience a more active life,” Leonard said. “A stronger relationship with these kinds of groups could help us develop curriculum to certify disabled veterans to perform underwater work. We’re considering a three-day course in September for disabled vets. We’re still trying to put it together.”

jguerra@keysnews.com

Underwater photographer captures ‘once in lifetime’ images

By Jaine Treadwell (Contact) | Troy Messenger

Published Friday, August 7, 2009

When the “Celebrating Contemporary Art in Alabama: The Nature of Being Southern,” exhibition officially opens at the Johnson Center for the Arts in Troy on Aug. 11, each of those who walk through the door will be immediately drawn to a certain art piece, said Wiley White, Center development director.

That piece might be a cornucopia of tires, a whimsical piece of furniture, a detailed portrait or a functional piece of pottery.

“Visitors will first view the pieces that visually appeal to them and those that have stories that interest them,” White said. “And, after they make the rounds, they will come back and focus on the artwork that appeals to them in a personal way. And, the black-and-white, underwater baptismal photography of Caroline Davis of Birmingham will certainly have wide appeal because baptisms are personal to so many of us. Baptism are emotional so we will be emotionally connected to her work.”

Davis said people do connect with her work in a personal way and often share their own visual memories of their baptisms.

“My photographs are not religion driven but I’ve seen people cry from my work,” she said. “That’s the ultimate drive for me to keep doing my work to search deeper for those images that come once in a lifetime.”

Davis’ background in underwater photography is shooting tourist destinations in color. She worked for years as an underwater photographer for commercial accounts and advertising agencies before taking her first baptism shot.

She was at a family reunion in the Grand Cayman Islands and came upon a baptism ceremony while scuba diving.

“I’m a pilot and, when I came back home to Alabama, I was flying over the Black Warrior River and, from the air, I saw a baptism in the river. I was fascinated by it.”

The next week, she had lunch with a church deacon in Green County. He invited her to photograph a baptism and other reverends soon followed suit.

That was 14 years ago, and photographing baptisms has become a passion for Davis.

“Every time, I shoot a baptism, because of the privilege I am granted, I embrace every second I have to respect and capture the moment,” she said.

“Doing underwater photography takes me to a place about as deep as you can go within yourself. I’m searching to find out what’s not visible to other people. Beneath the surface, with songs and prayers reverberating all around me, I go into a deep meditative state in the immediacy of that second revealed to me. I try to combine the body under the water, the reflection and line of the water and the line of the surrounding congregation above. This all comes together in a single moment. The photograph, I hope, will make that moment eternal.”

Davis said there are fewer and fewer outdoor river baptisms and the centuries-old tradition could soon vanish. She finds more river baptisms are being performed in the Black Belt of Alabama than anywhere else. However, she is traveling to other states to photograph as many river baptisms as she can and as fast as she can.

“So this has placed me in a different role than that of a fine art photographer,” Davis said. “I have become, by the forces of nature and society, to be a historian, too. My work has become much bigger than I what I first thought.”

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Get well wishes go out to Sam Carroll who is at Beth Israel/Deaconess Hospital recovering from foot surgery. The surgery was to take place this past Monday, so we hope he’ll be home soon to enjoy the rest of this crazy August that has been dropped in our laps. Does anyone else find it slightly overwhelming at times?

Big congratulations go out to Natasha London-Thompson the daughter of Linda and Mark of North Road. She is the new bride of chocolatier Rick Mast. The couple celebrated their wedding among family and friends in Williamsburg, N.Y. Island attendees included not only her parents, but Julie and Bill Coleman, Jackie Mendez-Diez and her daughter Alexandra, and Sharif and Mary Nada. Rick, formerly of Iowa City, Iowa, and son of Caroline Mast, cooked at the Outermost a few summers back but the couple now resides in Williamsburg. Check out mastbrotherschocolate.com - it made me want to take a road trip.

Maggie Nixon, daughter of Sarah and Bob, ventured to the biggest competition of her life along with trainer, Sarah Doyle. Eleven-year-old Maggie placed eighth in her division at the 2009 United States Equestrian Federation Pony Finals held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. Awesome riding, Mags, we are all so proud of you.

Bob Rosenbaum will have his photography on display at the Bank of Martha’s Vineyard beginning with an opening get together from 4 to 6 pm on Friday, August 21. His exhibit, which will be on display until the 28th, focuses on the shores of the Vineyard and the coral reefs of the world. Unfortunately due to a family illness he was not able to take an exotic scuba diving trip this winter, but still have lots of photographs from past trips.

A black and white photography exhibit by Riggs Parker featuring Donald LeMar Poole and the now scarce "round" wooden lobster pots will open at the Chilmark Library on August 15 and remain until September 10. A reception will be held from 3 to 5 pm on August 15. Riggs’s photographs were taken in the early 1980s when Donald was 80 years old. I was lucky enough to sneak a peek at some of Riggs’s work and it is quite wonderful.

Norman and Diana Freed have had their grandchildren visiting this week. Eight-year-old "Eagle Eye" Jonah Boardman, along with sisters Miriam and Shoshana, spotted, collected, studied and released some really fantastic sea creatures this past weekend while in Menemsha. Their collection included a stunning Portuguese Man o’ War, the tiniest sea robins in existence (a quarter of the size of my pinky nail), and some really funky orange "flying" nudibranch. Nudibranchs, of which there seem to be thousands of types, are often referred to as sea slugs.

Kate, Will, and Emma Dolan are here with their parents, Tori (Shanok) and Will, visiting their grandparents on Middle Road. Bill and Susan Shanok are certainly thrilled to have three adorable grandchildren here.

Max Wisniewski is here visiting his grandfather, Chet, of Flanders Lane.

CTC College for Kids continues in August
Posted On: Wednesday, Jul. 29 2009 05:12 AM

Special to the Daily Herald

Central Texas College’s College for Kids program continues in August with several fun, educational and entertaining classes directed at youngsters from 3 years old to high school. Registration for August classes is under way. Some of the available classes are:

Project Aware (age 8 and older): Students will learn vital information about the escalating problems found in the world’s waters as well as steps to conserve underwater environments. The class meets Aug. 3 from 9 a.m. to noon. The cost is $41.

Cultural Mask Making (6 to 10): This new class allows students to create and study masks representing different cultures of the world. Students will learn about different cultures and then prepare a mask that represents them, their family and heritage. The class is Aug. 7 from 1 to 4 p.m. The cost is $27.

Discover Scuba (8 and older): Discover the exhilaration of breathing underwater as you explore the wonders of scuba diving. The class takes you underwater in a swimming pool under the supervision of a dive professional. All equipment is provided. The class is Aug. 4 from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The cost is $36.

PADI Seal Team (8 and older): Participate in exciting “aqua missions” all within the safety of a swimming pool. Students will learn the basics of safe diving and various dive techniques like wreck, navigation, buoyancy, underwater photography and environmental awareness. The class is Aug. 5-7, from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The cost is $151.

Scuba Camp (8 and older): This weeklong underwater adventure includes three classes (PADI Seal Team, Project Aware and Discover Scuba) all for the price of one. The class meets Aug. 3-7, from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The cost is $200.

To register for College for Kids classes, call (254) 526-1586. Complete course descriptions are available online at www.ctcd.edu/ce.

Tourism Queensland put together the list of 50 applicants, which they whittled down from more than 34,000 hopefuls.

The winning candidate will eventually take up a six-month post as “island caretaker” exploring the land and waters around Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef and earning a salary of £70,000.

The 50 people on the short-list, whittled down from 34,000 hopefuls, include Ben Southall, a charity fundraiser from Petersfield, Hampshire; Sarah Louise Lane, a writer and photographer from Angel in north London; Holly Smale, a writer from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire; and Douglas Stidolph, studying entrepreneurship, from Guildford, Surrey.

The Brits are up against opposition from 21 other countries, including a dance instructor, physiotherapist, chef, radio DJ, scientist and actor. Continue reading »