For a large part of my youth, I loved nothing better than swimming. It didn't matter what I might already be involved in (unless it was going ice skating), if the prospect of swimming arose, I was all for it. When we lived in Pico Rivera , California , the Duda's (it was a shortened Polish name) had an above ground pool that was actually deeper than your belly button and you could dive into it. There was a giant ladder on the outside with another half on the inside and you could jump from the top of it into the water. It was the best thing going and if Billy came by asking did I want to swim, well, I wasn't going to say no. Billy kind of liked me more than I liked him. But I always thought that I would eventually marry Randy, who lived right next door. Yes, I know, how clich is that?
One summer, Dad gave Deb and me a choice; we could all go to Disneyland or we could get a pool for the backyard. No question what my answer was and Deb went right along. Disappointingly, it was more of a wading pool. I had been entertaining thoughts of one more along the lines of what the Duda's would eventually get. But we really weren't very well off and it was the best we could afford.
Dad did set it up so that you could get in a swing of the swing set (home made) and launch yourself into the pool from it. I actually made it into the pool every time unlike the kids and adults in the clips you see on " America 's Funniest Home Videos." It was just deep enough that if you laid yourself out belly down in the water, you could put your hands on the bottom with your face above water and propel yourself around the wall of the pool at a pretty good clip. Deb and I would get a good "current" going that would sweep Parky along if he happened to be in the pool too. I'm sure that was a sight; Dee and Deb going like mad around the pool and Parky whirling behind!
Dad took very good care of the pool and so it lasted us many summers. Despite its small size and lack of depth, it was a great thing to have. Since our home wasn't air conditioned (no one's was then), it was a great way to beat the summer heat. Even so, we would make frequent Saturday trips to a place in Carbon Canyon called La Vida Mineral Springs to "take in the waters." There were no real springs, but the two pools (one heated and one not) were maintained at a high mineral content. You could actually feel and taste the difference in the water. There was also a wading pool for the really little ones. This was where Deb and I spent all our time, until one day.
I didn't always know how to swim. I think that we are born with the basics of it in our genes, but a little learning is necessary. Among other things, I learned to swim at La Vida Mineral Springs. We had been going there for a long time; well before we got our own pool. We were known to the people who owned and operated it. We were known to the life guards and we were known to all of the regulars and we knew them all as well. So I am sure there was some tension in the air when Dad came and plucked me out of the wading pool and strode over to the deep end (eight feet) of the main pool.
I was five years old and could still snuggle up all small and comfortable in my dad's arms. And that is how I was as he stood there at the edge of the pool. He looked me over a bit and then asked me if I wanted to learn how to swim in the big pool today.
I had been chafing at my restriction to the kiddy pool for some time. I had been begging my parents to let me into the shallow end of the big pool. I thought that was what my dad was talking about. But no. I said yes I wanted to learn to swim in the big pool and in he tossed me. It wasn't some wimpy toss. I went splash into the middle of eight feet of water. I am sure that at that moment things got a bit more tense. Would I come up? What would I do when I did? Would I stay down? The life guard and Dad were ready, but there was no need of them.
I bobbed right up to the surface, turned around until I saw my dad still at the edge of the pool and dog paddled over to him. He pulled me out of the water and gave me a good looking over. He held me up in front of his face and asked me if I was okay. I said that I was and he immediately tossed me in again. I bobbed right up to the surface again, turned around until I found my dad and dog paddled to the other side of the pool where the life guard was laughing his head off as he pulled me out of the water. I stood there dripping to much laughter and applause. I walked down to the shallow end and went down the steps. This time I was in the big pool on my own terms.
It wasn't any time at all before my dog paddle turned into a real swimming stroke. I had a natural aptitude for it. I could watch what others were doing and mimic them. People would tease me and call me "Little Fish," but I didn't mind.
As I mentioned before, one of the pools was heated and it was, for me, quite hot. But the old people seemed to just love it. They would stew themselves in there for hours on end. What was fun, though, was that they would throw nickels and dimes and even quarters (keep in mind that I was born in 1952) into the deep end and I would dive after them. My parents raised me to be respectful at all times and so I never presumed that just because I had retrieved the coins that they were mine. But when I was all worn out and could dive no more, they would let me have the most of them and I could go to the snack shop and buy myself my most favorite thing; a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, and a Fudgesicle for my sister. It never mattered that I had already eaten the sack lunch that Mom packed.
We spent many Saturdays at La Vida Mineral Springs as I was growing up. Even after we moved from Pico Rivera to Hacienda Heights , we continued to visit there. The nice thing was that we were closer and the drive wasn't as long. We got there earlier and had more of the day to enjoy.
As I grew older, I came to watch my parents more and more and how they related to each other and people in general. It was there that I realized my parents were concerned with how people perceived them. Dad, in particular made this very clear. Countless times I would see him standing and watching over Deb's safety when he would notice an attractive young woman walk by. Then he would straighten his posture and suck in his stomach. It was actually fairly comical and I always wondered what Mom thought about all that. For Mom, it was in the things that she would say to Deb and me. For example, she would say something like, "Don't be so loud. People will think I didn't raise you properly" or "Don't do that. What will people think?" As a very young child, I was not very shy or self-conscious. But my parents did such a good job of modeling that for me that by the time I was about eight years old, I had developed a lot of fear over the issue.
I still experience shyness in new situations and when meeting new people. I realize this is irrational. But I worry a bit over what they might expect of me or the impression that I am creating. Because I have no clear idea of what they might want, I don't know how to behave and this creates anxiety for me. I have, however, learned that it usually comes out right in the end and if it doesn't, well, I gave it my best shot. So I don't let the fear stop meI just jump right in. Sometimes, that's the only way to get anywhere.
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