365 Facts: #191 (Random--Drowning)
You may have gathered that I enjoy swimming. What I don't enjoy: Potentially drowning. And that's happened to me twice.
The first time was in '91, the summer before high school. Mom and I were visiting her friend, whose neighbor had an in-ground pool that she let the friend's family use. At one point the friend was on an inflatable raft and she asked me to drag her away from the edge. I did so, but then somehow I got caught underneath the raft. Like, there was static electricity even under the water, so when I'd try to dive a little under the raft to get away from it, it would follow me. Not cool. I'm not sure how I eventually got free, but I know I was basically out of air at the time. I popped out of the water gasping for air just as mom and her friend were going, where is she?
Remember this tale if someone ever wants you to drag their raft to the middle of a pool. At the very least, don't let yourself get caught underneath it. Keep your head above water at all times.
The second time was in high school three years later. We were on a band trip and playing around in the hotel's pool. This guy I barely knew started tossing me around and inadvertently ended up holding me down under the water. Um, hello, would like some air, thanks. I don't remember too much about that, but again, that wasn't fun. I'm trying to remember if I pinched him or something to get off of me. He seriously didn't realize he was pinning me down or whatever.
For the record, drowning is probably my worst fear. Fire scares me, but at least you can still breathe to some degree in a fire. Or, at least, smoke inhalation is a less obvious way to go. Water in your lungs? That's pretty obvious. *shudder*
The first time was in '91, the summer before high school. Mom and I were visiting her friend, whose neighbor had an in-ground pool that she let the friend's family use. At one point the friend was on an inflatable raft and she asked me to drag her away from the edge. I did so, but then somehow I got caught underneath the raft. Like, there was static electricity even under the water, so when I'd try to dive a little under the raft to get away from it, it would follow me. Not cool. I'm not sure how I eventually got free, but I know I was basically out of air at the time. I popped out of the water gasping for air just as mom and her friend were going, where is she?
Remember this tale if someone ever wants you to drag their raft to the middle of a pool. At the very least, don't let yourself get caught underneath it. Keep your head above water at all times.
The second time was in high school three years later. We were on a band trip and playing around in the hotel's pool. This guy I barely knew started tossing me around and inadvertently ended up holding me down under the water. Um, hello, would like some air, thanks. I don't remember too much about that, but again, that wasn't fun. I'm trying to remember if I pinched him or something to get off of me. He seriously didn't realize he was pinning me down or whatever.
For the record, drowning is probably my worst fear. Fire scares me, but at least you can still breathe to some degree in a fire. Or, at least, smoke inhalation is a less obvious way to go. Water in your lungs? That's pretty obvious. *shudder*