“Did you used to be a swimmer?” this woman asks me in the
dressing room after my swim. “I was
watching you.”
Used to be? What was I
just doing? I thought I was
swimming. Did she mean “Olympic
swimmer?” “Competitive swimmer?”
“No,” I answered simply.
I thought of the guy I met in the swimming pool at SunRiver. He was bragging that without any practice, he
entered the Senior Games and won a Gold Metal.
Talking to him further, I found out that he was scheduled to swim in the Summer Olympics that were cancelled in 1944 because of the War.
When we were kids we swam in the sluice. After they sluiced it, it was very deep but
only about 10 feet across. Our other
option was the reservoir that usually was about 3 feet deep, most of it slimy
clay. I didn’t learn to swim until after
I was married and took lessons at the University of Utah.
No, I didn’t used to be a swimmer. I don’t know what you would call what I do
now when we go swimming. But, hey, I
just remembered, at age 67, I certified with the American Red Cross as a Life Guard for two years until I let my
license lapse. I didn’t save one life
but I was prepared.
1 comment:
As long as you have spent time doing laps, which I know you have done, you are a Swimmer, so the next time someone asks....
Proudly tell them 'YES!'
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