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HeroicStories #842: Panic in the Deep End
Reaching more than 37,000 subscribers in 118 countries, this is...
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HeroicStories #842: 2 January 2012 www.HeroicStories.org
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Panic in the Deep End Story Editor:
by S. J. Heron Joyce Schowalter
Florida, USA
I grew up in the 50's in a midwestern suburb. Summers were idyllic,
but there was little to do except ride bikes, swing on the swings,
or play dolls. Our parents were rather protective and didn't allow
us to wander far from home. We were often bored.
When the YMCA opened a facility in our neighborhood, we kids were
thrilled. All the families joined. A gym, a trampoline, a swimming
pool, and all within an area approved by our parents.
A group of us around the same age, between 10 and 14, were most
intrigued with the swimming pool. All of my friends and I signed up
for swimming lessons and spent as much time as possible in that
pool. We felt very safe there; usually one of our parents was
present, often sitting in the lounge chairs nearby, and a lifeguard
was always present.
One of my best friends was rather timid and not a particularly good
swimmer, but she loved that pool. We stayed in the shallower end for
hours daily, often in water up to our necks. We played games,
bounced up and down, and horsed around.
One day the pool was more crowded than usual at our end and we edged
into deeper water. I was confident at greater depths, having
mastered basic swimming, but my friend didn't like even getting her
face wet and had never passed the rudimentary course. We kept close
to the side, hanging on with one hand as we moved.
Suddenly we were deeper than we intended and my friend panicked. She
lost contact with the pool edge and grabbed me around the neck. In
an effort to get her face out of the water she pushed me down and
away from the edge. I struggled to surface, but she kept pushing me
down, unaware that she was close to drowning me.
Throughout this she didn't call for help, which would have brought
the lifeguard, and I couldn't get my head above water to shout. It
just looked like we were playing around. I was sure we were going to
die, within yards of our parents.
Suddenly I felt myself being pulled to the surface by one of the
swimmers nearby. He hauled us both up, asking, "Are you two all
right?" He then brought us to the pool edge and we crawled out.
I never knew who he was and hadn't the presence of mind to even
thank him. After recovering from the traumatic experience, I felt
guilty for having allowed my friend and myself to get into such a
situation.
She and I never spoke of it, nor did we tell our parents, for fear
of losing our pool privileges. No one but the three of us was aware
that anything untoward had happened.
I'm not sure that I was aware then of how close we really came to a
tragedy, prevented by his intervention. I send a very belated and
heartfelt thank you to our mystery man.
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HeroicStories salutes the greatest people in the world:
Our Readers
You Continually Inspire Us
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Welcome to our first issue of 2012!
Our wonderful last story, "Elves On a Ladder Truck" (#841) was one
firefighter's story of rescuing a baby being dangled out a window and
three stories in the air. If you missed this story, it published on 25
December, is currently on our archives, and is truly worth a read.
Hank in New Mexico replied, "This is a GREAT HS item! These are
professionals who encounter tough situations all the time, but who have
not allowed themselves to become calloused. They knew there was no way
for the mother to thank them, and insisted they remain anonymous.
Finally, they did not let a lock get in their way, and their solution
damaged nothing. Kudos to the whole group!"
Dave from New Brunswick, Canada sent a short and sweet reply: "To Serve,
To Protect... and sometimes to bring a little joy."
In "You Are Not Alone" (#840), reader Lucy Hanouille described her art
college Dean, who helped both her and another young woman cope with the
deaths of their fathers. An anonymous reader from Montana replies:
"Thank you for this story. In 2009 our daughter lost her dad at her age
16 and I lost my husband of 40 years. He suffered with cancer for two
years. A dear friend lost her husband suddenly on the ski slopes. I
thought how very hard it must have been that she never got to say
goodbye. I was so lucky to have been able to care for my husband; we had
lots of good conversations until the day before he died." (The full
story is on our archives: http://heroicstories.com/archives.html .)
Betty from Washington: "Thank you so much for all the wonderful stories
all year. I wish you and yours a New Year that's happy and healthy."
Joyce Schowalter, Networker in Chief
*** and Martha in Hawaii
Co-Conspirators to Make the World a Better Place
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