Swimming for Life

Aug 2, 2011, 6:40 am

The water feels surprisingly warm on my toes and ankles as I step from Jim Thompson’s pebble beach at Kilroy Bay into the waters of Lake Pend Oreille. My sleeveless wetsuit protects my core and legs as I make my way into the lake for my pre-swim ritual; get in, let the water fill my wetsuit at the neck, walk out slowly as the moisture works it way down through my suit and out the bottom, reposition the wetsuit, then repeat the entire process. Standing in the lake looking toward Garfield Bay, I can just make out the trees far, far in the distance. Actually, I can’t see individual trees but more like a sold wall of dark green with one white house at the top. The numbers keep churning around in my head…5.3 miles…8500 meters…340 laps in the long course gym pool back in Phoenix…a solid four hours in the water and farther than I have ever swum previously. I take one last look at Garfield Bay from solid ground, position my goggles, and head out into the water.

Swim Start at Kilroy - Photo by Sian Proctor

May, 2008

I have been a regular resident at our Garfield Bay home every summer since 2001. Every year, the first Saturday in August, we drove across the Long Bridge and headed home to Phoenix. Every year, we would see hundreds of people gathered on the bridge waving and cheering to the swimmers below. I learned that this event was called the Long Bridge Swim and that it took place the first Saturday of August each year. From 2001 to 2006, as we made our way home and the swimmers made their way across Lake Pend Oreille I thought, “there is no way I could make that crossing”.  In 2007 as we stopped to let the buses cross in front of us I suddenly decided that I would try the swim the next year.

Life and work took over and it wasn’t until May of 2008 that I actually entered a pool to prepare. I joined SWAC (Sandpoint West Athletic Club) when I arrived in Idaho late May of 2008. The club has a masters swim group, but I was too scared to join. So, with the help of a couple of books and some YouTube videos on proper freestyle form, I ventured into the pool several times each week and made my way across the pool and back.

I learned very quickly (I mean I know, of course, but I REALLY learned) that humans cannot breathe water! Unfortunately, I had to learn this lesson over and over as I could barely swim 25 meters without gasping for breath or swallowing half the pool. Due to my lack of lung power and general lack of knowledge about efficient movement in the water (YouTube videos notwithstanding), I developed a sort of lurching motion that moved me more side-to-side than it did down the lane.

Eventually, I amassed enough yardage and after a few forays into the lake for practice, I felt I could manage the distance of the Long Bridge Swim. I finished the swim that year, using what my husband called “pollywog style” in just under 2 hours.

Aug 2, 2011, 6:45 am

“Wow, it’s really wavy out here, “I thought to myself as I took my first few strokes away from Kilroy Bay. Wind blew steadily out of Hope and the waves hit the right corner of my head making breathing a challenge and navigation almost impossible. Mike Ehredt was on his paddleboard next to me and would be there for the entire swim. I knew the waves were pretty bad when I could not see his feet or ankles on the board when breathing his direction. There’s something about being in the water, though, that makes the chop and waves not feel as bad. I knew I was being tossed and turned around a bit, but I just put my head down and kept turning my arms over. At some point, I saw Kate out of the corner of my eye stroking past me. She had started a few minutes after me and looked like she was settling into the waves as well.

Getting in the Groove - Photo by Sian Proctor

May, 2009

Time to think about getting ready for the Long Bridge Swim (LBS) again. I swam just a little bit during the spring of 2009 and had a few coaching lessons so felt I was making some progress. I was still too scared to swim with a masters group once I got to Idaho so I joined SWAC and embarked once again on my own training program. After doing my own thing for a few weeks, I got up the nerve to ask the masters coach if he thought I would do ok in his class. “Absolutely”, he said and , “we would love to have you”. The rest of that summer until the LBS, I trained with the pool group and hit the lake a few times. By this time, I had started working on bilateral breathing (both sides) and did not look as much like a pollywog, but my form was still very inefficient. I learned a lot from the coach but still had a VERY LONG way to go.  I swam the LBS and improved my time from the year before. However, I had such a bad day at that swim with nausea and feeling very slow in the water, that I decided I hated swimming and would never do it again.

Aug 2, 2011, 7:10 am

Time for the first feeding stop of the day. Mike crouched down on the paddleboard and handed me an open bottle.  We were planning on about 4 hours in the water and stopping every 30- 45 minutes for either water of fuel. My fuel was in the form of a Hammer Gel product called Perpetuem. Mixed with water, the powder provides fuel during exertion and, being in liquid form, allows me to digest it while swimming. Eating and swimming, or should I say digesting and swimming, are tricky things to do at the same time. I learned through training that I a) had to eat solid food at least 2+ hours before getting in the water b) could only ingest liquids during the swim (except for the occasional chocolate covered coffee bean) and c) had to eat no later than the first hour into swimming. Heartburn is a common malady of swimmers and you learn very quickly what you can and can’t eat and how long before you swim that you need to stop eating.

Feedting Time - Photo by Sian Proctor

May, 2010

Time to start thinking about the LBS again, BUT, I wasn’t swimming. The 2009 LBS was the last time I had been in the water and I had set my mind totally against ever swimming again. In fact, I seemed to have lost interest in working out at all and just dabbled in a few activities here and there. Being a competitive athlete in three to four sports my whole life, I was trained to gear up for “events”. Games, tournaments, and competitions kept me going in athletics for years. As an adult, playing on teams and competing in leagues or signing up for events always provided a way to stay active. With no events on the horizon and no LBS on my schedule, I floundered in a limbo of non-activity.  But, just because I wasn’t swimming didn’t stop my friends from swimming. Kate and Jodee, two of my good friends, were heading into Sandpoint at the end of July and both were planning to do the swim. When the day arrived, I shuttled them into town and took pictures from the bridge. Once the horn sounded and the mass of swimmers moved forward, I regretted my decision not to do the swim again. Right then, I planned on 2011 and I think I was the 12^th person to register for the next year’s event.

Aug 8, 2010

Sometime shortly after the LBS swim on Aug 7 and before I packed up and headed back to Phoenix, Kate and I were sitting on the dock at our place. From the structure, we look out at the Green Monarchs and can see the houses of Kilroy Bay far in the distance.  Off and on over the years, we had talked about swimming from Kilroy back to Garfield. Usually, the conversation ended with, “yeah, you go ahead and don’t look but I will be right behind you”.  This time, however, the discussion was different. Some plans were made and logistics settled and we made the decision. 2011 would be our year to attempt the swim.

Aug 2, 2011, 9:00 am

The wind had finally diminished and I continued to take one stroke at a time across the lake.  On my right side, all I could see was lake and the mountains around Scotchman’s Peak. On my left, I could make out the houses and cliffs of Talache and knew I was making progress. I could no longer see Kate in from of me, but I could see the paddles of her support kayak coming out of the water on occasion and knew she was somewhere ahead and to my right. Turns out that her initial heading would have taken her to Green Bay off to the right and getting back on track took some time. 

 

Kate Waving - Photo Sian Proctor

One of the most challenging aspects of long distance swimming is boredom. Many swimmers quit during an event just because they get tired of being in the water and don’t seem to be making any headway. Once the initial flurry of activity related to getting in and settling in the water is over, the actual, “stroke, stroke, stroke” can get a little monotonous.  Every long distance swimmer adopts their own mental games and gymnastics to help them get through a long event. For me, counting strokes really helps. I get a sense of how far I have gone and the numbers hold a place in my mind that requires some concentration and prevents negative thoughts and self-talk from taking hold. The mind is such a powerful thing and really comes into play for long-distance swimming. Each number that I count is a stroke set (right-left-right or left-right-left) so if I count to 100 I have really traveled 300 strokes. I know about how many strokes for how many meters so I generally count to 300 and then go as far after that as possible before taking a break.

September 1, 2010

I returned to Phoenix with a sense of athletic purpose and determination related to swimming. This was the year I would really take on the sport and see what I could do. I started swimming regularly at my local gym then, in October, I finally joined a masters’ group near my home. Kate belonged to the same group and having a partner to get up three times a week at 5 am and swim from 5:15 – 6:30 helped a tremendous amount. There were many days that if Kate were not there, I would not have gone and vice versa. I swam with the masters’ group, swam some on my own, entered local events, had underwater filming done to analyze my swimming, and took private lessons from our master’s coach. I increased my mileage during the year and eventually swam a 4000 meter (2.5) mile race in May. Once I arrived in Idaho, I trained with Mike Ehredt. He had me focus on swimming 4 – 6 times per week with increasingly longer training swims each week then work on core and balance exercises on land. By the time the day of the swim arrived, I felt anxious but ready.

Aug 2, 2011, 10:15 – 10:42 am

As I came into Garfield Bay and begin to spot familiar landmarks, I started to pick up speed. Neighbors and family were out on their docks waving and providing support. The Sheriff Marine unit came by and provided a final escort into the beach with lights and siren blaring. As I approached the beach I churned my arms faster and moved as quickly as I could. Suddenly, the bottom of the lake appeared and touched my hands to the sand. Friends and family greeted me and helped me exit the water. Final time for me was 4:02 and for Kate was 3:50. We felt really good and solid with our effort and extremely thankful for all the support. There was no time during the swim that I thought I would not make it even though there were plenty of times I thought about how far I still had to go. My training and preparation had made me ready for the day and the support crews allowed me (and Kate) to focus on just swimming.

 

Sheriff Escort - Photo Sian Proctor

Swimmers and Crew - Photo Sian Proctor

Aug 7, 2011

Yesterday, I swam the LBS for the third time. The event was as fun as ever and, though mentally very challenging to enter the water again so soon after the Kilroy swim, I eventually settled in and had a good time. During the LBS, I thought a lot about this sport of swimming. It is not one that I came to naturally or easily. Though I grew up playing sports, I did not grow up swimming (other than learning not to drown) and there are some movements particular to efficient swimming that are challenging to learn as an adult if they are not ingrained when young. Someone close to me asked if I had “gotten swimming out of my system” and would now let it go. The question really bothered me at first but the more I thought the more I realized it had merit. So, as I stroked my way, one arm at a time, through the LBS this year I tried to answer the question realistically for myself. I thought and thought and swam and swam and as I raised my arms in and out of the cool waters of Lake Pend Oreille, I had my answer. “No!” And again, “NO, I have NOT gotten swimming out of my system. I think what I have done is gotten swimming INTO my system and my plan is for it to never get out!” As Eric Ridgway (LBS organizer) says, “Swimming is for Life” and now I believe that and plan to act on it as well.

5 for 5 Swim Event – Update – One Week to Go

One week from today I will probably be losing sleep thinking about one week from tomorrow. Heck, I am already losing sleep!

One week from tomorrow, I will swim from Kilroy Bay to Garfield Bay in Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille, a distance of about 5.3 miles. That distance is short enough to accomplish but long enough to have plenty of time to ask myself, over and over, “Now, why am I doing this again?”

My friend Kate will be swimming with me on this adventure although, in open water, you don’t really swim together. You just happen to both be attempting the swim at the same time.

The Green Monarchs of Idaho and Kilroy Bay

SWIM DETAILS

• First “go date” is Tuesday Aug 2.
• Planned time of departure from Kilroy is sometime between 2 pm and 3 pm depending on the weather. Afternoons have been smoother and warmer on the lake here this summer unless we have a storm coming in.
• We will be supported by two kayaks (one each) and at least one support boat.
• We will be wearing wetsuits.
• Anticipated completion time is somewhere around 7 pm.
• For locals in the bay, we would love to hear you cheering us on. You can either hang on your deck or join us in the water by boat (from a safe distance…nothing worse than tasting boat fuel or experiencing boat chop while swimming) or on the shore at the public beach. We are going to aim for coming right down the middle of Garfield Bay.
• For those in Idaho, check the Daily Bee on July 31 for a story (thanks, Dave Gunter!). Here is a follow-up with summary of the swim.
• For those in Phoenix, check the Arizona Republic in Aug 18 for a story.

TRAINING

Both Kate and I have been training hard for this event and we have each done 4+ mile training swims in the last few weeks. Barring extremely weird weather or illness, we should both be prepared for the distance.

FUND RAISING DETAILS

I want to take this space for a huge, huge, THANK YOU to those who have donated money, time, or supplies to the efforts of the Aogaah Foundation. Raising money for this charity is the primary focus of this swim. Your contributions will directly impact the lives of over 200 impoverished Cambodian schoolchildren.

Children of Aogaah - Photo by Sian Proctor, 2011

If you want to donate, there is still time to do so. We have currently raised $3200 of the $5000 needed for next school year so we still have $1800 left to go. Even small amounts go a long way and $60 will fund one child for an entire school year. Visit the Aogaah site for donation information and remember that all your funds are a) tax deductible and b) go directly to support the education of the Aogaah children.

Video about the swim event/Aogaah

Aogaah School, May, 2011 - Photo by Sian Proctor

Thailand Long Road Taxi

Getting from Koh Chang Island in Thailand to Siem Reap Cambodia is no easy task. Well, I shouldn’t say it’s not easy. There are many ways to do it. The trick is to pick the way that fits your preferred style of travel AND results in the least amount of $ leaving your pocket unwillingly along the way. Your options include any and all of the following individually or in combination with each other:

• Minivan
• Bus
• Private Taxi
• Plane

Minivan and bus options can include lots of scams along the way. Most of these involve trying to get the foreign tourists to pay hefty visa fees at the border or sell them things they don’t need. Given all that we had heard and how far we had to travel (around 280 km total), we opted for the private taxi option. We also had very good help per navigating the border in Aranyaprathet (Thailand)/Poipet (Cambodia) and a driver meeting us there. So, all we had to do was to safely navigate the 150ish kilometers from our bungalow in Koh Chang to the Thai border.

I knew we were in for a time when we walked out of our lodge and our taxi was there with its hood up. Record disconcerting item #1. But, we felt (no choice really) that we were in good hands so proceeded to the car. The driver’s door opened and out spilled a spiky-haired, earphone trailing kid of about 20 (or less) that did not speak a word of English. Record disconcerting item #2. Luckily, our lodge host spoke Thai and could facilitate the placement of our bags in the back and our butts in the seats of the small car. Close the hood, close the doors, and we were off.

Our driver (never did get his name) drove very carefully down the 1-mile off-road section from Baan Rim Nam Guesthouse to the main road. Our first task was to stop at an ATM and procure the requisite payment for our trip as we had run out of Baht (Thai cash) the day before. Don’t let the commercials fool you…Visa is NOT everywhere you want it to be…at least not in Thailand! But, I digress. Back to the drive. Given that our driver did not speak English and I was not convinced he understood we needed to stop and I could not simply say to him, “please pull over at the nearest teller machine”, I resorted to shouting over and over the letters “ATM, ATM” and gesticulating wildly at every one that we passed. He did get the message, we stopped, withdrew, and proceeded onward.

As we made our way around the island, I noticed that our driver (ok, I’ll call him Thim which is kind of Thai for Tim since I don’t know his name) was driving very slowly. Koh Chang has a lot of steep hills and I was wondering if we would make it up some of them. Near the top of the first hill and as he made a slight left, a decent amount of water disgorged itself onto my feet in the front seat of the car. “Ohhh”, I heard from Thim. “It’s ok!” I replied shaking off my shoes. “No problem”.

Thim had picked us up early to make the earlier ferry but I knew at this speed we would not make it. Sure enough, as we pulled into the ferry station, the boat was just leaving. Thim pulled the car into line and we waited for the next boat.

It was about this time that I really began to look at the car. I could not see the odometer, but I could see that every single indicator was on…the check engine light, the gas light, the oil light…everything. The dashboard was a veritable control panel of bright and flashing lights none of which seemed to phase Thim in the least. As we sat there with our engine running and the gas gauge moving closer to empty, I mistakenly tried to initiate a conversation. “It’s ok to turn off the car and save gas”, I said. He looked at me and I repeated myself. He looked at me again and said, “Where you go?” Thinking he was asking where we would end up, I said, “Siem Reap”. Oh, I had said wayyy too much and now had called into question not just my sanity but the location of our destination with him. He quickly pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and handed to me.

I proceeded to engage in a conversation, even though it was in English,  in which neither I nor the person on the other end knew why we were talking to each other. After returning the phone to Thim, he called someone else and again handed me the phone. This time, the person asked if we were going to Aranyaprathet to which I responded yes. He laughed and I gave the phone back to Thim.

Now that our destination was understood by all parties, I stopped trying to talk to Thim and we waited patiently for the ferry. I might mention that during this whole exchange my wing-man, Sian, was happily ensconced in the back seat listening to her book on tape…oblivious to the scene that had unfolded before her.

The ferry ride proceeded without a hitch. We disembarked and headed on our way…BUT, we made a quick stop just on the mainland to interact with an English speaking guy who instructed me to pay our driver the arranged amount. Hesitant to pay before arrival, I reluctantly withdrew the 2800 Baht from my pocket. We had paid a 700 Baht deposit already in advance for a total of 3500 Baht.

Money in hand, I thought that Thim would proceed directly to the first gas station. Alas, this was not the case. As we headed out onto the road I realized we were headed for Chantiburi (the next town) and would probably not stop for gas until we got there (30 Km). Seemed like a “fur piece” as we used to say in Arkansas as I was sure our gas would be gone way before then.

Once on the two lane road, Thim’s Indy 500 driving ambitions came roaring to front and center. Gone was the gentle boy that drove carefully up and down hills and around corners on Koh Chang. In his place…some Thai version of Mario Andretti headed toward the finish line. As his speed zoomed up toward 140 kilometers per hour, I could only hang on for dear life as my body swayed back and forth and the air conditioner spewed water all over my feet at every turn. I was actually afraid to go to sleep but I might mention that my wing-man, Sian, slept soundly through the entire race and when she wasn’t laying down snoring she was up looking around sleepily and listening to her book on tape.

I must say that given an average speed of nearly 100 kph, the distance we had to cover passed very quickly. We made a few stops…gas (thank goodness) …toilet …coffee…and one vendor selling little flower wreaths to hang on the rearview mirror. Thim bought one of these in a town we passed through then proceeded to fold his hands in front of his chest and say a little chant and prayer. Hopefully he was praying for long life and no traffic accidents given his driving behavior.

At one point, I recognized that Thim was falling asleep. Even if you don’t speak the same language, the signs of sleepy driving are impossible to miss. Funny…here I was afraid to sleep and the crazy driver was falling asleep! Not a good thing when you are traveling at break neck speeds, tailgating, and passing on blind corners.

We eventually made it to the Thai border. Unfortunately, Thim felt obligated to drop us at an office of his friends that sold those fake, expensive Visas we were warned about. They met us at the car and tried to explain that we had to go inside this office and buy special visas. Luckily, we were aware of this scam and proceeded to ignore them and be on our way. No tip for a driver that delivers us into the hands of visa fakers!!

At any rate, we made it and hooked up with our connection on the Cambodia side with no trouble. A nice, pleasant, slow taxi ride from Poipet (the Cambodia side of the border) to Siem Reap was followed by a long nap at the hotel. Glad to make it in one piece, we began to plan our time in Siem Reap.

Cambodia Bound…2011

Cambodia…the Land of Amazement…home to 14 million people most of whom are under thirty years of age..country whose people can expect to live 62 years and whose infant mortality rate is 5.5%.  Some other things you may not know about Cambodia? See answers at the end of this post…

• How many monks are in Cambodia?
• How many psychiatrists make their home in Cambodia?
• How many bombs were dropped on Cambodia in the Vietnam War?

Today, with my friend Sian, I make another trek to this most interesting locale. It is hard to describe in words a place that is so different from what one is used to, however I will try. Last year I blogged about the Aogaah Foundation school and about Pol Pot and the Killing Fields. You may have read my stories about eating bugs (my friends did this, I did not) and about Angkor Wat and about a family in Phnom Pen that I adopted.

This year, some of the themes will continue and some will be new. With a traveling companion along like Dr. Proctor, you never know what kind of stories and images will emerge.

We will start in Phnom Penh then head west to the Cardamom Mountains and then to Thailand. From there we reenter Cambodia and head for Angkor Wat then back to Phnom Penh. Three weeks with a busy schedule will fly by and we have scheduled many adventures along the way.

Our bags are packed and they are huge. Mine weighs in at about 60 pounds and Sian’s at about 50. Filled to the rim with donated school supplies for Aogaah and gifts for the teachers and for my adopted family there, we are crossing our fingers that both bags arrive safely with all items in one piece.

Our travel itinerary is not bad. We fly out of LAX at 1 am tomorrow morning and make our way to Taipei, Taiwan. Our choice to upgrade to Business class will make this leg of the trip more enjoyable. From Taiwan, we fly directly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and arrive on their Saturday around noon.

Answers to the questions above:

• 60,000 monks
• 26 psychiatrists (maybe because of all the monks?)
• 539,000 tons (Funny…since we weren’t at war with Cambodia)

Stats gleaned from Lonely Planet Guide to Cambodia, 2010, pg. 12.

5 for 5 – Swim Event – Raising Money for the Children of Cambodia

Swimming 5+ miles, when one has not had a lifetime of training as a swimmer, is a major undertaking. Swimming 5+ miles in a lake the size and temperament of Lake Pend Oreille in North Idaho is another type of undertaking entirely. Yet, on Aug 2, 2011 making that trek across the lake with my friend Kate is what I propose to do. Kilroy Bay to Garfield Bay…right across the lake…one long, straight shot.

The swim is not part of a large, organized event. Rather, it is two swimmers with a plan. The plan emerged from years of Garfield Bay happy hours spent dreamily gazing across the lake at the faraway town of Kilroy. Conversations that started as “We should swim from here to Kilroy Bay” eventually evolved to “When should we swim from here to Kilroy Bay?” and then made the final transformation to, “THIS year we swim to Kilroy Bay.”

Although early planning focused on swimming FROM Garfield Bay TO Kilroy Bay, further discussion and thought resulted in altering the plan to swim from KILROY to GARFIELD. Given normal, daily wind and water conditions that vary from calm and placid to rough and swelling, the adjustment seemed like a good idea.  Normal winds blow into Garfield Bay and could help push us in at the end.

In addition to being a fitness challenge and certainly the most difficult thing I have ever taken on (even more difficult than 43 miles in one day in the Grand Canyon), the event is being used to spearhead fund raising for a foundation that supports schoolchildren in Cambodia.

Links for more information include:

• The Aogaah Foundation Website
• Short video about the swim

Stay tuned to this blog for more information and updates as the event approaches.

Ending the Rule of the Scorpion King…

I grew up in Arkansas and, because I am a tomboy, spent a lot of my time outdoors. Torn pants and skinned knees were the order of the day in my household as I explored every nook and cranny of the woods and parks surrounding our home. As part of this upbringing, I was exposed to the entire range of local flora and fauna, including bugs. Ants, ladybugs, beetles, spiders, butterflies, caterpillars, ticks, and even the occasional snake were all creatures to be studied, admired, and respected.

Living the last twenty years in Arizona has provided opportunities for exposure to types of bugs that did not exist in my little Arkansas world. The desert is home to several types of poisonous spiders, the ever more populate killer bee, rattlesnakes of all shapes and sizes, and stinging, biting flies. None of these joyous creatures, however, compares to the worst, most disgusting, loathsome, and hideous inhabitant on the face of the planet: the SCORPION!

Scorpions are not small by bug standards, ranging in body size from less than an inch to more than 2 inches (not including the tail!). They have eight legs and a set of pinchers, all placed evenly along a body that can flatten down to the height of a piece of paper. Their long, skinny tail stays curled over their back with a stinger that is fully locked and loaded at all times. Ewwww. Even writing this creeps me out and sends chills down my spine. I really can’t think of anything in the world that I hate more than scorpions!

Desert mountains are prime scorpion habitat and we live right next to one. For years, we had problems and some years the word “infestation” came to mind. The stories are endless and the sightings numbered in the hundreds over the years. Soon after we moved into the house, I learned not to sit on the floor (imagine…sleepily enjoying a movie while resting on the floor…then seeing a creepy, crawly scorpion heading right for you!). I also learned not to ever walk barefoot and to seal every opening in the house including outlet covers and the sides of air vents. One year, it got so bad that I carried a rubber mallet with me and turned the light on to carefully scan each room’s walls and ceilings before entering. My husband and I have each only been stung once, on the foot, although he did have a close call with one that was hovering on the ceiling and dropped onto our bed one morning.

Greg and I had gone back and forth many times about calling an extermination service but we had heard that there was no spray for scorpions so we put it off. One day, a young man from an extermination service knocked on our door. He was going door-to-door to sign up new customers. I told him I would have to ask my husband, who was just walking by.

“Honey”, I called out to his retreating form. “Do we finally want to start that scorpion pest control we have been talking about for awhile?”

“No”, he said over his shoulder. “We’re fine”.

I shrugged my shoulders and apologized to the man. Not five minutes later I heard a shriek from the back yard. Well, ok, Greg doesn’t really shriek but he did make a very strange sound then came running in the house with something squished in a towel.

“Did that pest-control guy leave yet?” he said breathlessly.

“Yeah, he did. Why?”

“I just found a scorpion in my hair!”

I didn’t know whether to laugh, scream, or cry. I did open the door and run outside hoping to catch the young bug man but he was long gone. That very day, I made some calls to friends and families to see whom they used for service. We found out about Bulwark and they now spray every month outside our home. The employees are all very friendly and helpful and the stuff they use seems to do the trick. I even go barefoot in the house now at least during the day and I sleep much better at night.

The PONY-POOL Incident

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I HATE swimming. I just always feel better AFTER I do it than WHILE I am doing it. Well, most of the time the former statement is true. There are those moments, seconds really, when the breathing feels right, my suit, goggles, and cap feel right, and the water feels like my friend and not my foe. In those microseconds when all seems to be working as it should, then I feel like I can fly. As I take each stroke and turn my head to breath, I feel the wake of water indicating forward movement and I see the shapes on the shore move by.

You see…as a child I did not learn to swim. All I really learned was how not to drown…and I have been not drowning, every time I get in the water, for years.

My first real memorable experience with the water had to do with an ill-placed bet I made with my father at the tender age of about seven. I happened to be early for swim lessons the day before and, to my bewilderment, could stand in the pool and touch bottom right next to the sign that said 5’.  Now, I knew that I was not 5’ tall…not even close… but the overwhelming evidence to the contrary was right before my eyes! I could not put together the logic as to why I could stand at this depth and keep my head above the water nor could I deny that it was true.  Maybe some kind of miracle was involved? Maybe I had grown overnight? Whatever the reason I wasn’t too worried about it but I knew I had to tell someone. So, at dinner that night, I told my father.

“Dad”, I said almost breathless with excitement. “I stood up in 5’ of water today!”

I can remember the sequence of moments that followed as if they happened just yesterday.  My father, quiet and contemplative sitting on the other side of the table just letting the words sink in and, I am certain, running through the list of 1,000 possible replies. Then, with his response selected, leaning over the table with a gleam in his eyes and saying, “I bet you can’t stand up in 5 feet of water”.  Pausing, he then added, “in fact, if you can stand up in 5 feet of water, I will give you anything you want”.

If there was ever a moment in my life that I can define as the first, dumbest moment of my life, this would be it.  The overwhelming generosity of his offer coupled with the absolute certainty that I had the data to PROVE I could do it overrode the logic circuits of my brain and I blurted out, “A pony! I want a pony!” (Doesn’t every seven-year old want a pony?).

My mind went into pony overdrive! Where would we keep it? What would I name it? My friends were going to be so jealous. I just KNEW I had this one in the bag! Swimming lessons took place again the following day and my father agreed to take me. If I could stand with my head above water next to the 5’ sign, then that pony was mine. So confident was I that I all but asked if we could stop and buy a horse trailer on the way to the pool.

Next day dawned after an excited and sleepless night. We loaded into the car and headed down to the local pool. As we entered through the front gate and made our way to the kids’ area, I began to feel a gnawing sense of doubt. “Why did the water look higher than yesterday?” I said to myself.  But, armed with the vision of the single data point I had collected the day before, I headed into the pool next to the 5’ sign. As I tread water, I tried in vain to reach the tips of my toes to the bottom of the pool while keeping my mouth above the water line.  I reached and I stretched and I reached. I tried standing on my head upside down even though that was not part of the bet. Over and over again I tried to reconcile the new data I was collecting today with the information I knew was true from the day before.

Chagrined and slightly humiliated, I knew the pony was done. In fact, I should have known that the day before but had fallen victim to a really strong case of denial. I am not certain that the pony-pool incident kept me from getting into swimming more as a kid, but I sure do remember it like it was yesterday. I wonder if my father remembers it the same way that I do?

The Four Icon Challenge – DS106 – Week 5

This semester, I took on the challenge of keeping up with, lurking, participating when I can with an online Digital Storytelling class offered by Jim Groom through the University of Mary Washington. The past few weeks have been a total bust per even the level of lurking, but this week I found a little time and became intrigued by one of the assignments called The Four Icon Challenge. The challenge is to find four icons that boil a movie down to its essence and then arrange them in order. Then, other people try and guess the movie title.

I find this assignment intriguing for two reasons. First, I am a visual-holic and in my secret life (is that second life?) aspire to become an artist (even though I only dream about it). So, the visual aspect of the icons has a strong pull for me. Second, I believe that to boil things down to their essence you have to study them and understand them at deep level. As Mark Twain said, “if I had more time, I would write a shorter letter”.

Without further ado, then, and too much writing…is my contribution to the assignment 4 Icon Challenge. Can you guess the movie title or even what it is about?

Moments of Zen – ds106 Assignment 1

For our first assignment in the ds106 storytelling class, we were asked to create a short digital piece that tells a recent story as a way of introduction. I guess an ongoing story in my life is my quest for balance  and for a deeper connection to life. As part of that quest, I have attended a variety of meditation sessions and retreats. My most recent experience with this “activity” was through a local Rinzai Zen Center in Tempe. The pictures in the attached video come from two sessions I attended. One was in Jemez Springs, NM and the other was in Mt. Baldy, CA. My hope with the video is to introduce those who don’t know me, and those who do, to the part of me that attempts to find peace and calm and engages in reflection.

Moments of Zen

Test post for ds106

This is a test post for digital storytelling class…test test test…testing!