The beginning.....

I am getting to an age where I am getting older faster than I am getting faster - which means I am getting slower. But with age comes patience. If I can’t swim faster, maybe I can swim further. The question is … how much further can I swim? In hopes of satisfying my curiosity, I have become my own experiment. What distance can I swim with grace and dignity? Grace and dignity are the key words here. 

 I learned that people who don’t swim don’t get it. I learned that swimmers who measure their swims in seconds – not hours – don’t get it. And I learned if a person did not get it, there is nothing I could say to help him get it. A fellow I work with expressed the thought that bridges were built so people would not have to do this sort of thing. People expressed their concerns about the water temperature, sharks, sunburn, water quality and ending up in Delaware. I was offered advice on what to drink, what to eat, what sun block to use, what swim cap to wear and how many swim caps to wear, what goggles to wear and where to put the Vaseline – in the armpits and on the chest. I decided I needed to swim 15,000 to 20,000 yards per week for several months leading up to the event. I figured if it weren’t enough, I’d find out the hard way.