BY: DAVID POLAKOFF
I wonder if Popeye (Popeye the Sailor cartoon) ever requested spinach himself, or if it was simply placed on the table, met with indifference—or perhaps even forced upon him by his parents—long before he discovered its transformative power.
One of my greatest joys in teaching adult sailing at New York City’s Atlantic Yachting is working alongside colleagues who began as campers in its sailing program for 9–15-year-olds and now teach both campers and adults. For them, sailing camp was like spinach for Popeye—an epochal, life-changing experience.
And, while I cannot speak to their initial encounter with or current preference for spinach, I do know this: the (now former) campers never requested to learn how to sail; the opportunity was simply presented to them (see dictionary: Serendipity!).
None of the parents of these Manhattan-born campers had any sailing background; they registered the kids in sailing camp as a convenient summertime activity – an alternative to routine day camps. Neither the kids nor their parents would have predicted that such a cavalier decision would be so pivotal for their futures.
