“Stay positive. Better days are on their way.” ~ Unknown
Today, I had the great pleasure of talking to my friend Kent Nickell for two hours. We talked about many things, but the funniest story was when I attended swimming lessons at the Kiwanis Pool in West Liberty, where Kent was the lifeguard. After a few lessons, I guess, I don’t really remember, the teacher threw me in. I remember that a little too well. It didn’t go as she’d hoped. By high school, when I could actually swim, I found myself in that same Kiwanis pool, remembering vividly that push, the water in my lungs, and seeing where she had thrown me into the water I realized it probably wasn’t over my head. Of course, as a panicked child, I was maybe six or seven at the time; I didn’t know any different. I didn’t expect to be pushed. I wasn’t prepared for it, sucked a ton of water into my lungs. In many ways, making me scared of water was the least of the traumas that experience caused. This is why I do not like people standing behind me to this day, among other things. But Kent was my hero. He was maybe 16 or 17 years old at the time, and I remember coming up for air, gasping, and probably screaming, and there he was to catch me from going down again. Mind you, it was only today, when we talked about this story, that I remember he saved me. Until that moment, I only remembered a boy in the water who was bigger and stronger than me carrying me to safety. The trauma blanked his facial features for over 50 years, but I don’t think it blocked my sense of how he saved me. He has always had a special place in my heart. I’ve known Kent my entire life, and even though I am eight or ten years younger, I always thought he was the kindest, most handsome guy in West Liberty. He was sweet to me as a child, and that says a lot about his character, and that character hasn’t changed all these years later. He’s still handsome and kind, extremely compassionate and thoughtful. I love him dearly. Always have. Always will. Best day ever. By the way, I’m no longer afraid of water. I got over it by teaching myself to swim in Barbara and Jimmy Kelly’s pool in Alabama when I was ten years old. I caught everyone gone, put on some flippers, stayed in the shallow end and practiced until I could move my arms and legs that kept me afloat and moving. I’ve loved swimming ever since.
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