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Distance and time away from Niagara Falls only heighten my appreciation for its splendor and my sadness that my hometown still struggles to reflect what nature and inspired human hands have made.
Summer visits for me are infrequent -- autumn is my favorite season -- but the joyous occasion of my niece Olivia Ryan's wedding got my family on the road from Michigan to New York. For a couple of years, I took the cut through Canada via Windsor. It seemed to make sense, until a more experienced traveler from the West enlightened me.
The Reporter's John Hanchette's brother Bill, who often headed to their family's summer haunt near the St. Lawrence River from his home in Milwaukee, told me the northern passage usually saved time. He was right.
We take the Blue Water Bridge from Port Huron to Sarnia, and that way you avoid congestion in downtown Detroit and the Windsor surface streets you have to drive to pick up the infamous 401.
The Blue Water is at the tip of Lake Huron where it flows into the St. Clair River. We had a magnificent clear day for the trek last week and the water was glistening, deep blue.
The heat and humidity that's plagued us for much of the summer was mercifully gone.
Recovering from the third surgery I've had in the last six months to repair a torn rotator cuff, I am unable to drive long distances, so my wife Elizabeth was at the wheel.
My vast experience navigating the wild freeways around Detroit under deadline pressures gives me some special skills in these circumstances, but I was content to sit back, relax and read a little.
"Time" magazine's cover story, "The Secret History," on the U.S. plan to attack al-Qaeda nine months before Sept. 11 is must reading for anyone serious about understanding what really happened, minus the political spin-doctoring.
The story brings home a disturbing reality. Our government knew far more about an imminent terrorist threat than previously acknowledged, and the Clinton administration had a bold plan in place to attack al-Qaeda, but the Bush administration shelved the plan and only decided to carry it out after the towers fell.
Richard Clarke, the Clinton administration's point-man on terrorism, had hatched the plan. He was a career government employee and a holdover from the first Bush administration.
During the transition of administrations, Clarke provided pointed briefings for the Bush team on the seriousness of the al-Qaeda threat and the urgent need to act preemptively to thwart it. Clarke stayed on with the Bush administration and continued his crusade in vain. The Bush national security team was focused on the priority of a new missile defense system, and as one former Clinton aide noted, "Terrorism wasn't on their plate of key issues." That is disturbing.
As my 401 read continued, I shifted from the disturbing to the delightful.
I'm not much for books by Hollywood types but Gabriel Byrne's autobiographical vignettes in his "Pictures in My Head" provides a wonderful read.
Byrne's tales of his youth in Ireland are hilarious, and his writing is magical, evocative and entertaining. The Irish actor's warm personality shines through and the book ranks with my all-time favorite Hollywood memoir, David Niven's "The Moon is a Balloon."
I am still smiling from Byrne's prose as our caravan drives on. Liz and I are in one car and my daughter Rachel, Amy and her boyfriend Sami are in another. Cell phones bring ease to such journeys.
Our first destination is Silver Bay, a tiny community on the northern shore of Lake Erie near Port Colborne, Ont. My wife's family, the Bellontes, have had a cottage there for about 35 years, and I have been staying with friends there since my college days.
Silver Bay has always attracted a large contingent from Niagara Falls. The Rhoneys, Moores, Wahls, Michaels, Mahers and the legendary Rose Everett were Silver Bay fixtures from the Falls for decades.
My brothers-in-law, Tom, Tim and Joe Bellonte, all have places there, and the beach evokes fond memories and pleasant joys.
The lake water is clear, too clear in fact, due to the zebra mussels. The water temperature this year was 77 degrees, the highest this century. Anyone, such as a Rush Limbaugh disciple, who tells you there is no global warming should take a dip in the lake.
We spent the night there and had a bonfire on the beach. Seeing the stars on this cool, perfectly clear night was a welcome shift from the glare of Detroit's city lights.
Friends often ask me what they should see when they go to the Falls. I tell them there are three musts on my list: The Maid of the Mist, Goat Island and Niagara on-the-Lake.
I know there are many other sights and attractions worth taking in, but these are my personal favorites, and my friends seem to appreciate my advice.
Again, it was a perfect day as we wandered through the huge crowd on the Canadian side to board the boat for the spectacular trip.
Sami had never seen the falls before and he was in awe as we ventured through the thundering waters. As often as I've taken the trip, it continues to exhilarate and inspire.
The Canadian side is booming, as we all know. I won't even begin to point to the lessons people on the American side should learn, but they are there.
Winston Churchill once described the drive from the Falls along the river to Niagara-on-the-Lake as the finest Sunday afternoon drive in the world. He was right.
The beauty of the river as it changes character and winds to Lake Ontario is a symphony of nature like no other. The charm of Niagara-on-the-Lake and the view of Toronto's skyline is a finale both soothing and soaring.
We arrive stateside via the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge and head to Lewiston. While there, I enjoy the pleasantness, but wish there could be more, and again our Canadian neighbors show us the way.
That night, there is a gathering of the staff and friends of the Reporter for dinner at Dante's Ristorante on Pine Avenue. I talk to these fine people all the time, but getting together and breaking bread with them is a joy.
The food was fabulous -- the marinated eggplant was delicious, and the pasta done perfecto. The company was delightful. Some things only Niagara Falls can do well.
Sami grew up in southeastern Turkey on the Mediterranean, near the ancient city of Antioch. It's an area of immense beauty.
The sights along the Niagara, though, deeply touched this well-traveled visitor. As we had lunch on the porch of the Anchorage Restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake, looking out over the sailboats on the river and the majestic Fort Niagara in the background, Sami asked, "How could you leave a place that is so beautiful?'
"With great difficulty," I said. "Economic reasons."
Many have left, but none forget the beauty that is ours. Let's do more with it.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 13 2002 |