The Bobber

In honor of the arrival of August I thought I'd share a little story with you from my teenage years. This famous story is brought up every now and then it always results in my once again going to the therapist for a few sessions due to the scarring it has left. (My family is all rolling their eyes about now).

When I had just started out my teenage years, a family friend of ours, Ray...this guy...

asked if our family would like to go "rough it" at Raystown Lake for a few days. Ray and a friend of his owned a boat and made frequent trips to Raystown with friends and family. We agreed, never imagining it would become a tradition every summer. I think we all thought we would get the monkey off our back and then we could say we had "done that". But as it turns out, we fell in love with boating and being out on the water. I think we spent 4 days the first time and each year we seemed to find a way to add on to that. We were soon blocking out a week for Raystown each year.

It just so happens that one particular year we just didn't have enough boating and fun and Ray thought it would a fabulous idea for us to all spend the week at Lake Anna in Virginia. It was a great idea and we all have a great time. We rented a house right along the water and made some great, and not so great, memories. That not so great moment happened about halfway into the week. We were once again out on the water and water skiing had become a tradition as well. Digger, my younger brother, is somewhat of a daredevil and each year had him attempting new and greater things with water skiing. I unfortunately had still not mastered the skill. I just couldn't seem to get the "bend your legs, relax and let the boat pull you up" concept. If you have ever water skied, then you will understand that it is not only exhausting, but when your done you are more aware of some parts of your body you didn't even realize you had!

After trying a few times I had had enough and I was just about spent. I remember thinking, "And now I have to swim back to boat and climb up that tiny ladder...maybe they could just drag me back." But it just so happens I didn't start swimming back to the boat because Papa Smurf had been in the water working with me, trying to help me get the hang of it. And so he thought I should stay in the water while he did a little water skiing. I remember the words, "We'll be right back, I won't go far." Yeah......OK! Although I protested, I stayed put and off they went. Papa Smurf trailing behind the boat....and there they went....farther......and farther away....until I could no longer see them. Now picture it, we are on a LARGE lake and I can see the shoreline, but it is in no way close to me. I am in the middle of a lake...like a stupid sitting duck, a piece of stinkin' drift wood! I began to panic...what if a boat comes by and doesn't see me...what if that boat just drives over me? So I began swimming for shore and the more I swam, the hotter I got...I don't mean I was working up a sweat, no I was as mad as a hornet! I kept looking to see if they were coming back, but they weren't.

Minutes passed...they felt like hours! I kept swimming, hoping and praying no boats would come near. Whose idea was this and way wasn't he coming "right back"?? After a while I saw a boat approaching, but I couldn't tell if it was them. I was just praying not to get run over. It's very hard to see things in the water when your in a speeding boat and far away...know how I know this??? Because they just DROVE PAST me!!! Yep, there I was waving, splashing and they never saw me...oh, they were looking my way, but they weren't seeing the stupid little duck in the water! Nope, just kept right on going! By now I'm quite angry...I know, hard to imagine me being upset about anything...but I was! I was thinking to myself, they'll never see me, I'll have to swim back to shore, that's if I make it without being run over by any boats...WHO CLEARLY CAN'T SEE ME! And to top things off, this wasn't even my idea...in fact I remember now......I WANTED TO GET BACK IN THE BOAT!!! Oh, was I mad!

Finally, after driving past me a little ways, some clever soul in the boat spotted me and they turned it around and picked me up. Boy, did I let them have it! And you know what they did...they laughed at me! Can you believe it?!? I'd like to know which of them would have been laughing if they had been the one left to fend for themselves in the middle of that vast lake...yep, I'd like to know! To top things off I then got yelled at for being mad...of all the...that really wasn't a good day in my book! Oh we (when I say we, I mean my brothers) love to re-live that priceless moment and thankfully Papa Smurf often comes to my rescue and agrees that he didn't think they would just keep going and going. In fact, he even let go of the rope sooner than he would have and when they came to pick him up and he decided to be the "drift wood" instead and sent them back for me first. Thanks, Papa Smurf..............I think. They joys of memories buried deep...that's one memory that maybe should have stayed buried...I know I have my therapist's number here somewhere....