Hi folks. It is time for the ROW80 check-in, but first, I
have had several requests for the story of my first and only swimming lesson,
so here it is.
Swimming Lesson
It was over forty-five years ago that I had my first
swimming lesson. It wasn’t planned. A bright sunny day called me to the lake
shore. The sun was warm, the beaches crawling with people of all ages. It was
the perfect place for a young single like me.
I strolled along the sandy beach, enjoying the warmth and
dodging the racing hordes of small children. The delicious smells of busy
barbecues filled the air. It was nice, a perfect day.
About this point some demon of idiocy convinced me to stroll
along the docks that ran well out into the deep waters. What the hell was I thinking? Like all fools
I wasn’t thinking at all. I just accepted that I was safe and that nothing bad
could possibly happen to me, ever. I was soon disabused of that silly notion.
There was a group of teenage boys chasing each other along
the dock, pushing each other into the water. As they went by, two of the
grabbed me and threw me in. I remember screaming as I flew through the air. I
gulped in as much air as I could as the water enveloped my body, closing in
over my head.
I struggled against the water, but only sank faster so I
stopped. I could see the sunlight well above me and so I made a wide sweeping
motion with my arms. I moved. Thrilled with that bit of progress I tried again
and again. Just as my lungs were about
to give out, my head cleared the surface.
My wide sweeping motions were moving me slowly but I was
tiring quickly. I began to kick with my legs too and managed to make it to the
rocky shore. Scrambling and staggering up the beach, I found a grassy spot in
the sun to dry out. As I was lying there, enjoying the sun on my face, I sensed
someone beside me. It was one of the boys who had thrown me in.
“You sure don’t swim very good,” he remarked as he flopped down
beside me.
“That was my first lesson.”
“You can’t swim? Oh Jesus, I’m sorry…”
“Not half as sorry as you will be if you ever try that
again. I’ll kick you so hard you’ll be wearing your balls for a bowtie. Now
bugger off.”
He slunk away and I lay there running it all over in my
mind. Finally I rose, walked back down the beach and into the water. Once the
water was up past my waist I leaned into it and used my wide sweeping frog
motion to slowly propel myself along parallel to the beach. I practiced until I
had no strength left.
To this day I still swim with the frog style. It isn’t
pretty, but it keeps me afloat and I ask no more than that. So there you have
it, my first and only swimming lesson.
So how about you? Where or how did you learn to swim?
Ok, now for those pesky ROW80 goals.
One: Write something
at least five times or more each week.
I struggled here a bit, but I managed.
Two: Write a minimum
of 2500 on my WIP words each week.
I`m way behind here, but I will catch up before Sunday.
Three: Publish at
least six new novels in 2012.
Third round of edits is finished. I expect to get two novels
out this month or next.
Four: Read and review
six or more first novels by new authors. (I don’t give bad reviews, so don’t
panic, I’m friendly, honest. J
Just finished Stone Relics by Katy Walters. I owe this one a
review. Check it out. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/125390
Five: do more to be
supportive of new and struggling writers.
Doing my best here. I`m pleased so far.
Six: Publish a small
collection of erotic short stories. Hey, I’ve been around for over sixty years,
and this one is on my bucket list. I will make it happen in 2012.
I have several in first draft now. Working… This is such a
tease isn’t it? It will happen in March at the latest.
Ok, that’s about it for today folks. How is it going for
you? Did you hit your targets? Let me know how it went for you.
My book about Vampires will soon be ready for publication.
The first draft of the first chapter is here. http://www.prudencemacleod.com/p/immortal-tigress.html check it out.
Posts
I was born knowing how to swim. I think it was some kind of mystical prophesy thing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, my kids were like that. Part dolphin I'm sure. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the water and swimming; I'm just not very good at it.
DeleteWow, Prudence. You tackled being tossed into deep water, a non-swimmer, as a problem to be solved. And once you saved yourself, you went back in the water. Gutsy.
ReplyDeleteI've never been one to panic, but I have to say I came close that day. I was determined to claim a victory over the water.
DeleteWriting for me is much the same. By self publishing, I have jumped into the deep end of the pool. It is time to learn to swim again. :)
LOL I love your reply to the kid! And it looks like you're making great progress on the goals, too - thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wasn't happy with him and he got that right off the bat. I guess in the long run he actually did me a favor. I lost my fear of the water that day. Always a silver linging somewhere. :)
ReplyDeleteI meant lining. grr fat old fingers...
ReplyDeleteWhat's funny is I read lining and only looked back after this comment correcting it. We see what we expect to see a good bit of the time.
DeleteI love your story. I had a lot of fears growing up and water was one of them. I did learn how to swim somewhere between 6 and 7. My mother took me down to the community pool for lessons. I remember constantly being afraid of water getting in my face; afraid that I was going to drown, but I kept going.
I did learn how to swim but I could never master the breast stroke. I too prefer the frog. :D I also like to float on my back and look up at the clouds. One of my favorite pastimes that I haven't done in a really long time. I guess I need to find a pool. :D
Peace to you Dear One.
Morgan
I'm glad your swimming "lesson" turned out okay...
ReplyDeleteAnd you had great progress this week. Two more books on the way? You're incredible!
Thanks Fabio. :)
DeleteLove your response to the boy!
ReplyDeleteMy first swimming lesson was off a pier over Lake Michigan.
I just remember the water was FREEZING!
last time I went swimming was in a glacier fed lake. It was a really hot day, but the water wasn't. It is a real shocker, isn't it.:)
ReplyDeleteHow scary! I can't believe someone would push someone else into the water and assume they knew how to swim! I learned how to swim as a young child, and was actually on a swim team in pre-school. Most of the pictures of me as a little girl are in a swim suit. Even on the field trip to the fire station, where I wore a lime green bikini.
ReplyDeleteEmma, a lime green bikini? Girl, you were a fashion leader even then. I am impressed. Yep, I make sure my kids learned to swim as soon as possible. It is a handy skill as well as a lot of fun.
ReplyDeletePru, I learned to swim in similar manner ... but I liked it so much I even move on to competitive swimming.
ReplyDeleteHey, way to go Chris. That's awesome!
DeleteI was wondering about that when you mentioned it in your 7 things that you learned how to swim by accident, practically. So I'm glad you shared that story. I can't believe you were shoved into the water! That is awful. I can't imagine what would run through someone's head to make them do that to anyone, let alone a child! I am not a swimmer. Not only do I suck, but I have a phobia of being under too long. I just freak out and need to come up for air. I need the ability to pop up at any time, the assurance that there's air to breathe. Idid go scuba diving once, and it was amazing, but I don't think I could do that more than I did - meaning, deeper than the 15 feet and with an instructor. That was hard enough, but quite a feat.
ReplyDeleteHey April, I was about eighteen at the time. I too had a fear of the water, at least until that point, but no longer. A healthy respect yes, but fear no longer.
ReplyDelete