By Bill King
This is most definitely swimming season. I have never lived where they measure snow in winter by the foot, but I have spent my life in the south, where we might measure summer sweat by the gallons! With the actual temperatures soaring slightly below triple digits and the “feels like” temperatures beyond that, it is most definitely time to take a few dips. No, I’m not talking about snuff like my granny used to dip. I’ve never taken a dip of that stuff in my life, but I have taken more dips in swimming holes than I can count. Now grant it, I don’t do that as often as I did in my days of youth, and I don’t do it in the same places, but I do still get in the water once in a while. In my younger days, it didn’t take much urging to get me in the water. These days, my grandson Drew sometimes has to shame me into getting in with him. I usually only get in two or three times a year and usually not until the Fourth of July. This year, I’ve already gotten wet at least three times, and I suspect more will come.
My swimming holes have changed since my boyhood days. The one I swim in these days doesn’t even have snakes in it…at least not most of the time. I’ve seen a few in there, but they had usually choked on chlorine. I think Jean almost walked on water once when she saw a live one in there! It was not the kind that would have hurt her, but we did have to do CPR on the snake after Jean scared it half to death! I’m sure we swam with more slithering sliders and swimmers than we realized when I was young. The water was usually so brown or green we couldn’t see them anyway, so we didn’t know the difference. Back then, we shared one swimming hole with cows. We just mo-o-oved them out of the way or tried to climb on their backs and dive off. They were seldom stationary participants for the diving competition. The hole I swim in these days has enough chlorine and shock in it to kill off snakes, frogs, lizards, and maybe even a rash from poison ivy.
I don’t have to travel far to swim these days, but then, I really never have. Growing up, I had a pond practically in my front yard and a branch called Ivy Creek that ran across our property. Now, I have a pool in my backyard and a good-sized spring that runs across our property. About the only things I did with that pond and the creek were to fish, swim, and throw rocks in them. I never had to put chlorine or salt in them. My spring is too shallow for swimming. It has minnows in it, but they are too small to catch or eat. My pool has all kinds of living creatures that make use of it but no fish. For some reason, Jean doesn’t like for me to throw rocks in the pool. I have discovered if I go many days without adding chemicals to my pool water, it quickly begins to resemble the old pond. I’m considering just letting it go and adding a few catfish!
Swimming doesn’t thrill me like it once did, but seeing my family have fun does. Fortunately for me, I have a yard swing beside the pool. I can swim a little and swing a lot while everyone else swims until their skin looks like prunes.
