I almost died..one time...really.. I did...

I did...really... maybe it sounds a little dramatic but I did and my rescuer would more than likely appreciate a nice "shout out" for jumping into the freezing river to save me. And yes he is still my friend today....or at least I hope he is...

The picture included with this blog is some of my teaching peeps. I worked with those folks for about, I really dont know.. let's say a long time and keep it at that. We have remained friends and have had many great times together over the years. Teachers are really a fun group to work with. I thought it was just the special education teachers in training at college that were the fun group. But no it really is teachers in general that are a lot of fun! You certainly want to invite them to your party but make sure you have some cocktails on hand because the night will become interesting rather fast that is for certain. I plan for this to be the start of many "teacher friend" stories.

My drowning incident occurred at my buddy's birthday party (the guy pictured in the middle with all the ladies, Hampt). He and his nice family have a boat that is docked on the Sattilla River (I think that is the name of the river). Give me some credit I just officially moved to Georgia and I dont even know the river names in Bama. I mean rivers are great and I love them but they seem to have the tendency to all look a like dont they?? :) and yes I do need a geography lesson.

We always have a great time on that boat. The guest list includes a lot of fun folks who really enjoy letting their hair down and I am by far no exception to that rule. I had a few drinks, ate a wonderful meal at the dock, and then we set up cruising up and down the river having a great time. The boat trip occurred in early spring and the water, even though it is hot as the devil here was still very very cold. The cold water usually does not stop many folks from jumping in and having a good time.

On the cruise, Jason was at the back of the boat smoking a cigar. I am sure he is enjoying time away from me. :) I was at the front of the boat sitting on the side with my feet dangling in the water having a nice conversation with one of the party goers. Throughout my conversation with her, I kept saying if I fall in the water will you save me??. Of course, she replied. I continued to say that over and over and to this day I am not sure why I would say that. I have always been a decent swimmer and have enjoyed swimming all of my life. My mom has always been terrified of the water and continues to be to this day. So she made sure my brother and I knew how to swim. When we were growing up she made sure that we were involved in swimming lessons, going to the pool, and the river as often as we could. So I am not sure why I had thoughts in my head about drowning, maybe it was foreshadowing of the event to come.

I was happy with my feet dangling off the edge of the boat and watching all the goings on on the boat. I enjoyed watching several folks take jumps into the water off the roof of the boat. It looked like fun but I wasnt about to do it. For some reason, while people were taking jumps off the boat and everyone was watching them I decided to take off my bathing suit cover up and slip into the water. So much for that brilliant plan. I come up from the water for air underneath the boat! Luckily, there is space underneath the boat so I was okay but about to panic. No one would actually know that there would be room underneath the boat unless you went underneath the boat. Which I do not think many people would want to do on a regular basis. Going underneath the boat wasnt in my plan. My plan was to jump into the water to cool off. Not go underneath the boat and possibly drown. By this time, the folks on the boat begin to panic, also well, except for Jason.:) They didnt see me jump in they just knew I was "missing". My friend that is pictured, Hampt, jumped in the freezing cold water to save me. But had no idea where I could have gone. To his knowledge I had drowned or a gator had got me.

I finally pulled myself together and swam out from underneath the boat. The current that day was so strong it was not an easy task. And had I paid attention to the current I hope I would have never jumped in anyway. By this time, Jason pulls me onto the boat and my friend who saved my life is in the freezing cold water still looking for me.

I am forever grateful to my friend for rescuing me and making sure that I was able to see another day. To this day, I have made fun of Jason for this. I ask him "Just what were you doing when I was drowning?" His reply is always "I didnt know you were drowning until you were popping your head out of the water".. My response back is " I know exactly what you were doing you were filling out life insurance papers".:)

Thank you my friend for saving my life..and I promise no more drowning incidents. This is my blog of the day! With Love, Bamaslammer