Shimmer in Background Noise

Shimmer - 8/28/2008

It comes back to me, over and over again. Being at angels two-seven ten miles off the Dalmatian coast as we went about our work. The impact. The loss of control. The incipient spin. The ejection. Waking up in Balboa. You never know when your number will be called. You never know.

I am back from the beach. It was, as beach days should be. Perfect.

The tide was way out again. I can never get it right. I know the low and high tides are always receding by an hour a day, but I lose track and just hope I can get there on an incoming tide.

Didn’t happen today. The tide was still heading out when I arrived.

Set up my chair. Soaked in the sights. Two college-age girls in black bikinis trying to throw the Frisbee. It was nice, custom made for me.

I told myself I would be in the water by 2pm – so I was.

When the tide is way out, the rip currents are pretty prevalent.

I was holding my own, standing against the current waiting for a wave to dive when out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy running like his life depended on it.

Spidey sense kicked in, and I watched where he was running. With a scan I saw the group of ten or so kids with kick boards heading for England. I started slowly working my way against the tide in the general direction. The water got deep fast, and I realized I would have to swim. Check left and three lifeguards were inbound, doing it right with their torpedoes in tow.

I wondered if I should get involved – the Pros from Dover were on the scene. The math didn’t work out.

All the lifeguards were mid-twenties or younger. All in infinitely better shape than I.

With age comes wisdom.

The first two guys grabbed the kids closest to them and started heading for the shore. I would have passed up the low-hanging fruit and grabbed the ones further out – so that in theory I could pull them in and get the closer ones as I was heading for the shore.

All this while I was still evaluating if I needed to get involved.

The furthest out kid was starting to move fast – heading for England, and the lifeguards were now heading in with the balance of the gaggle. Two more lifeguards were inbound, but it would be a while.

I dove in and swam out to the outlier. Grabbed the kick-board and started toward the shore.

After a couple of minutes I turned around to check on the person I was towing.

Pretty little girl, maybe 10 or 11. The biggest blue eyes I have ever seen. I joked that a plane was a better way to get to England. She started apologizing, “We didn’t know, we didn’t know, we didn’t know…”

I made comforting noises as I struggled again the tide.

It’s okay. It’s okay.

At one point I rolled over on to my back – because while I hate back stroke, it really is my most powerful stroke. I have insanely powerful legs.

One of the lifeguards dragging a couple of the kids in front of us asked if I was all right. I told him I had it under control.

Secretly I was worried what would happen if I had a heart attack. I was working hard.

Once waist deep in the water I handed the girl off to her father – who was in a litany of “I could see you standing out there and they just kept going out and I saw you standing there and they kept going out and…”

It’s okay, dude.

People really don’t respect the planet. I am assuming it is more than just Americans, but the world really isn’t this sterile, controllable thing.

We are all perpetually at risk.

Which is why tonight I am having a steak.

Because if I had had a heart attack and died trying to rescue a pretty little girl with big blue eyes.

The last thing I would have had for supper would have been a Boca Burger.

And that would suck.