This is one of my favorite images, taken at Sheffield Lake, Ohio, not far from my birthplace of Cleveland.
Many people are surprised to learn the location of this image. Let’s face it, few people expect to see such beauty come from anywhere near “the mistake by the lake”. Even as a native, I too was surprised how this underdog of the Great Lakes could reveal such subtle beauty. Just as most people’s impressions of Scranton, PA were forged by the TV series, “The Office”, Cleveland can thank “The Drew Carey Show” for introducing many to the peculiarities of this rust belt town. The show’s unforgettable character, Mimi Bobeck, complete with her garish makeup and flamboyant wardrobe, became the model of Cleveland beauty.
Although I have seen the full palette of Mimi’s cosmetics reflected in the Lake’s waters at sunrise, the reality is that the Lake reveals its beauty much more subtly. You need to watch very closely as her moods change quickly. My family was fortunate to spend an extended Labor Day weekend at a cottage just yards from the water’s edge. The visit gave me the opportunity to experience, as Sting once sang, her “all four seasons in a day”.
One evening, my wife and I watched a solitary sailboat approach on the horizon just as the energy of a stifling August afternoon was feeding an intensifying thunderstorm. It was clear that the craft was trying to secure refuge before the fury of the storm was unleashed upon it. It also appeared inevitable that the storm, now spitting bolts of lightning, was going to collide with the vulnerable boat. However, as the undaunted sailboat proceeded into the path of the storm, a break appeared in the clouds. It was almost as though the maelstrom was purposely instructed to part and grant the craft passage to safety. As the sun set, we watched as the sailboat disappeared below the horizon, unharmed.
It certainly feels right now as if we are the terrified occupants of that sailboat. We know that the storm is approaching and that it is a threat to our existence. We can’t avoid it. All we can do is hope that we and our loved ones are spared.
Having been an eyewitness to this improbable outcome on Lake Erie, I realize that we are not in control of our fate. We all need to keep faith and proceed with life. At some point, this storm will pass.
