 Wind
in his sails
Charles Elbaum has a set-up
windsurfers dream about. He doesn't have to pack his gear and trek to
Aruba or Florida for a thrill on the waves. He "puts in" right
in his own backyard—the East Passage of Narragansett Bay in
Jamestown—anytime he feels like it. And he feels like windsurfing more and
more these days, thanks to a matched set of metal-and-plastic knee joints.
"I've always enjoyed athletic
activity," says 72-year-old Elbaum. Since his youth, he's been
proficient in downhill skiing, figure skating, sailing, bicycling and, of
course, windsurfing. At 5'7" and 135 pounds, Elbaum was a dynamo, but
his athletic life was taking an unseen toll on his knees. The first sign
that all wasn't well came on a steep slope in Stowe, Vermont, a dozen
years ago. Elbaum noticed a subtle ache as he raced down the mountain.
Then he found he wasn't able to make those high jumps on the ice. One by
one, he was forced to forego the sports he loved. "I felt a real loss
when I couldn't enjoy these activities anymore."
The
procedure 
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