SHORELINES

3 Shor e l i n e S | 2014 Vol :1 We've all heard some version of "As American as Mom, baseball and apple pie." Here's a completely different take: "As American as the bald eagle, Popeye the Sailor Man and bass fishing." And why not? What's more American than a fierce, majestic bald eagle soaring over the land, a symbol of freedom and might? The bald eagle is our national bird and appears on our national seal and currency. Or Popeye, the salty old seaman who is strong to the finish because he eats his spinach, an iconic comic strip and cartoon character created almost a century ago by American cartoonist Elzie Segar? Or bass fishing, which has become a multibillion-dollar sports and recreation behemoth all across the country? In this issue of Shorelines, we bring you all three with a distinctly Alabama, and Alabama Power, flavor. • Bald eagles, despite being the national symbol, faced extinction just a few decades ago, victims mainly of the pesticide DDT. But the birds have come back strong, including in Alabama. Alabama Power's Environmental Affairs Department has helped, surveying the population annually and documenting the birds' return. • Believe it or not, Popeye has a strong connection to the Coosa River, home to a half-dozen Alabama Power lakes. Ohatchee- born Tom Sims, who wrote the comic strip from 1937 to 1955, transformed stories from his father's days as a steamboat captain on the Coosa into tales of Popeye on the salty sea. • Also, we celebrate the dramatic, come- from-way-behind victory of Randy Howell in the 2014 GEICO Bassmaster Classic. Shorelines readers will remember our story from summer 2013 that profiled Howell's struggle to be a successful bass fisherman. With a final Classic day for the ages, now he is. Speaking of fishing, the new, 2014 Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series features Alabama Power lakes Neely Henry, Logan Martin, Jordan, Lay and Smith, site of the championship in October. Also in this issue, learn about high-school bass anglers who turned their attention from fish to trash, trying to collect the most trash to win the top prize at the first Cleanup Classic. The classic kicked off a heavy slate of events celebrating the 15th year of Renew Our Rivers. Call this our all-American issue of Shorelines. Enjoy! — BOB BL ALOCK WATER WHYS Left: Photo by Jim Denney — Bald eagles, like this one on Lake Martin, have been seen at many Alabama Power lakes, including Harris, Smith and Weiss.

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