http://vvww.thecharlottepost,com
THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2006
m RELIGION
Local pastor gets
“Straight Up”
about the down
low lifestyle in a
new book.
First
African-
American to
sail world
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MYSTIC, Conn. —It is hard
for BiU Pinkney to describe
just what it’s like to float on a
small boat alone in the mid
dle of the Atlantic Ocean.
There are some things that
only a sailor would under
stand. There are other things
that happened that only
someone who has sailed
alone would get. And there is
a whole other kind of phe
nomenon that Pinkney him
self can barely explain.
“There are things I can’t tdl
anybody because they
weren’t there,” he said.
He tries, though.-
One pitch-black night, the
sea was completely calm
From horizon to horizon, mil-
Hons of stars were visible.
The light of those stars
reflected off the placid water,
encompassing Pinkney
“If you suspended your dis
belief for a while, it was like
you were floatir^ on a ^obe
of stars,” Pinkney said.
Pinkney, when he was a
kid, could never have specu
lated his hfe would take him
around the world, literally
When he was suffering the
slings and arrows of racism,
he could not have guessed he
would become acquainted
with great and successful
Americans such as BiU Cosby
Maya Angelou, Walter
Cronkite and Michael
Jordan.
“This was aU the furthest
thing fiom my mind,” said
Pinkney, 70. “The expecta
tions of a black kid grovdng
up on the south side of
Chicago were limited.”
Pinkney a Meriden resi
dent for the past three years,
is the first Afiican-American
and only the fourth American
overaU to sail the world along
the Great Capes—a 1992
voyage of 27,000 miles taken
in a small sailboat aptly
named Commitment. Some
of Pinkney’s gear fixjrn the
trip is on display at an exhib
it at Mystic Seaport titled
“Black Hands, Blue Seas:
The Maritime Heritage of
Afiican-Americans. ”■
“It fulfilled a desire I’d had
since seventh grade to have a
great adventure and give an
object lesson to my gi'andcliil-
dren,” said Pinkney a trim,
youthful man with a grizzly
white beard, glasses and a
single gold hoop earring.
The lesson wasn’t just
about math, science, Railing
and geography, though he did
give those to about 30,000
Chicago schoolchildren dur
ing his trip. It was ultimately
about the difference between
di'eams and fantasies.
‘Young people today live in
a world of fantasies,” he said.
Dreams are attainable
throu^ perseverance, educa
tion and fortitude. The ccxn-
struction of the Amistad, the
ship docked at Mystic
Seaport that Pinkney com
manded for three years, is the
result of someone’s dream to
build a replica of the boat
used in a famous 19th centu
ry slave revolt.
“There are portions of my
knuckles in there,” Pinkney
said, pointing to tiie ship he
helped buUd.
Fantasies are nothii^ but
accidents, to summarize
Pinkney’s thoi^hts. A child
who believes he- will be
plucked fi'om obscurity and
anointed a sports star or a
famous singer is fantasizing.
Fantasies aren’t bad,
Pinkney said—he does play
the lotteiy when the jackpot
gets really large—but too
much of them diverts people
fiom the process of living.
Please see FIRST/2B
ooor—
than a castle
PHOTOS/ERICA SINGLETON
Biltmore estate, built by architect Richard Morris Hunt for George Vanderbilt in 1889, was one of the most tech
nologically-advanced homes in the |ate 19th century. Today, it’s one of Asheville’s must-see sites.
By Erica Singleton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Fans of design, remodel
ing and celebrity home
shows will get a treat
unlike any other in
Asheville. Just imder
three hours offof Hi^way
40 west, The Biltmore
estate is the ultimate
“crib.”
Seeing your favorite
actor or rapper’s house on
TV might be interesting,
but touring America’s
largest home and national
historic landmark, is an
educational experience
you owe yourself not to
pass up. While flat screen
televisions that rise out of
end tables and movie the
aters and arcades in
homes today might sean
cutting edge, at 25 years of
age in 1889 George
Vanderbilt had the most
technologically adviced
home built for its time,
that is stiU admired today
for it’s innovative engi
neering. The 250-room
French chateau built by
architect Richard Morris
Hunt was fuUy electric
and centrally heated. In a
time when most homes
didn’t have one bathroom,
much less a working toilet,
Biltmore House had 43,
replete with tubs and
showerheads.
Completed in 1895, and
formally opened to family
and fiiends on Christinas
Eve, Biltmore House also
featured an intercom sys
tem, a fire alarm system,
two elevators (one electric,
one manual as a back-up)
and a relatively new
invention called a tele
phone.
During my tour of the
house, also referred to as a
castle without the sand, I
was amazed to find 'the
basement held a bowhi^
alley a gymnasium, and
an indoor pool. Tbday an
indoor pool might not
seem that big a deal, but
70,000 gallons of heated
water, with undeiwater
lightning, was a huge deal
thai, and something to be
marveled at today
As the largest' private
residence in the country,
the estate is absolutely
massive. From the
Reception and Ticket
Center to the Biltmore
House is a 3-imle drive.
Originally 125,000 acres,
now merely 8,000, the
estate and house require
you give yourself time to
explore. Thoioghthe entire
house isn’t open to view,
you can set-up a tour with
a group or go, as I did on
an audio tour, where you
See THE ASHEVILLE/2B
Coaches for every problem but skepticism
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS '
NEW YORK—Ruth Kaufinan was
tired of the stress that had become part
of her job- As an account manager for
legal research firm Westlaw in
Chicago, she wanted something that
was less of a strain and that allowed
her time to piirsue her acting and writ-
ir^.
So four yearn ago, Kaufinan hired a
life coach- The two met regularly for
almost eight months. Kaufinan had
assignments: Research other jobs. Find
a writing mentor. Think about life
goals.
In the end, about $2,500 later, her life
coach helped her to decide to stick it
out until she could stop working full
time, she said.
“I foimd out for jobs I was capable of
doing without more school, I wovild
either have to travel a lot, which would
make my second lifestyle more diffi
cult, or I would make less money,” said
Kaufinan, who finally stopped working
last year. ‘T did feel bettea- knowing
that. Coaching was very helpful. I did a
lot of introspection. I learned more
about myself and my goals.”
Kaufinan is one of a growing number
of people hiring coaches to hdp them
define and achieve ■ any numbei' of
goals. And there aren’t just life coaches
any more; There are coaches for we^t
loss, relationships, attention deficit dis
order, spirituality, health and, of
course, love. There ai-e coaching
schools, and colleges, including New
• York University and John F Kennedy
University in California, are offering
classes. You can even watch variations
on coaching in action on prime time:
ABC has aired “How to Get the Guy”
(romance coaching); and TLC offers
“Shalom in the Home”(family and rela
tionship coaching) and “Honey We’re
Killing the KidsI” (nutrition coaching).
The 11-year-old International Coach
Federation, a nonprofit membership
organization, estimates there are
30,000 coaches in the world. JMore than
10,000 are in the ICF, a 300 percent
increase since 2000.
Study: Candy lovers also partial to fruit
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBANY, N.Y-Cookie
lovers seem more likely to
eat apples and other finoits
than salty snacks, suggests
a new study
If true, that finding might
be useful in encouraging
healthier eating, according
to the lead author of the
study In other words, maybe
that sweet tooth could be
satisfied by finit instead of
sugar.
A group led by Cornell
University marketir^ pro
fessor Brian Wansink looked
at the eating habits of thou
sands of people and conclud
ed the craving for something
sweet spans both candy and
fi*uit. The study published in
the journal Appetite found
people who eat candy, cakes
and oilier sweet snacks eat
more fiTjit than people who
prefer salty snacks like nuts
and chips.
‘T think it shows thae is
some hope for the typical
dieter,” he said. “... Maybe
you’re not just a sugar-eat
ing machine—that there are
some redeeming traits to
your diet.”
The researchers analyzed
self-reported eating habits of
more than 14,000 Americans
contained in U.S.
Department of Agriculture
surveys- They also relied on
information finm 405 people
who responded to their own
mailed survey
Analysis ofllie USDAdata
suggested the link between
sugary snacks and finit
while the survey showed
.that finit lovers eat more
sweets than vegetable
lovers. '
Wansink said parents and
public health officials could
use this information to
encourage the phase-in of
more fi*uits among kids and
other people with a sweet
tooth-
“I think it’s something
that can be done a httie bit
at a time at the dinner
table,” he said.
Cynthia Sass, a dietitian
with a private practice in
Tampa, Fla., said she has
been doing ex actly that with
chents trying to control
their sweet tooth. They
might use unsweetened
applesauce on waffles
instead of syrup, or put
berries on their cereal
instead of spoonfuls of
sugar.
“AU of Ihese have worked
really weU for people who
PHOTOmE STOCK MARKET
come in sayir^, ‘I have trou
ble controlling my sweet
tooth,” said Sass, a spokes
woman for the American
Dietetic Association.
Dr. Beverly 'Ibpper, a pro
fessor of food science at
Rutgers University who
does taste research, criti
cized the study’s ececution.
She said it was difficult to
interpret the results since
the study was vague in
defining terms like “fimit
lovers” or what specific salty
and sweet snacks were con-
PleasG see CANDY/2B
Emotional
roller
coaster:
Bipolar
Approximately 1.5 percent of
all Americans wfll suffer fi:x)m
bipolar disorder, or manic
depression, at some point dm'-
ing their lifetime. 'While it
remains uncertain whetiier the
iUness occurs more fi:equently
in minority or non-niinority
communities, there is no ques
tion that minorities suffering
fi'om bipolar disorder receive
disparate treatment. In 2001
the U.S. Surgeon General
reported that African
Americans are more likely to
be diagnosed with sev^e men-.
tal illnesses than whites, but
less than Half as likely to
receive timely and appropriate
mental health services. As a
result, Afiican Americans are
more likely to attempt suicide,
and they have more than twice
the niunber of hospitalizations
as their non-minority counter
parts. Understanding bipolar
disorder and knowing when to
seek help vrill undoubtedly
prove essential in reducing this
abhorrent disparity
What is bipolar illness?
Bipolar disorder is a type of
^ective (mood) disorder,
, meaning it causes people to
experience dramatic changes
in their moods and cognitions.
SpecificaUy people living with
bipolar disorder have mood
swir^ in 'which their affect
shifts between highs (mania)
and lows (depression). These
manic and depressive episodes
can be mild or extreme, and the
person may also experience
periods of normal mood in
between them. Usually the
disease surfaces during late
adolescence or early adiolthood
and persists throughout the
person’s hfe. While it is not cur
able, most people with the Al
ness can hve normal Hves with
consistent and appropriate
treatment.
What is it hke to live with
bipolar illness?
Bipolar Alness impacts every
aspect of its victims’ lives- 'lb
understand the Alness in its
entirety one must imderstand
what it is Hke to experience its
two extremes.
Mania, in general, involves
periods of high energy and
expansive mood, often coupled
with irritability and pressured
thinldng. Manic periods can
rar^e fix)m a nuld high, called
hypomania, to extreme agita
tion and even psychosis.
Hypomania can often feel
pleasant to the pa'son experi-
encmg it, as he or she may
experience a lot of energy and a
happy, euphoric feeling.
Creativity often intensifies,
and thou^ts and words come
faster and sharper. The need
for sleep dramaticaAy decreas
es, so the person may feel he or
she can get more things accom
plished. Mania is also associat
ed with delusions of grandeur,
or having unrealistic beliefs
about one’s own abilities.
Irritability and distractibAity
increase, such that the person
may drive away fiiends and
relatives or do things that
worAd otherwise be uncharac
teristic. During a manic
episode, a person may also lose
his or her inhibitions and do
impulsive and dangerous
things fike having Tmprotected
sex or spending a lot of money
that he or she cannot afford to
spend. WhAe mAd mania
vuidoiJbtedly has its benefits.
Please see LIVING/3B