Swimming at the Eagle

Swimming with Georgie. She is in an inner tube, kicking herself around with a lovely contented smile on her face. It is the day after her 5th birthday party. A bright, sunny day but not so hot today. In the reflection of Georgie's sunglasses I see my father. His hair is slicked back and wet. He's in dark sunglasses and has a stubbly beard. He's smiling and if you could see his eyes, there would be a twinkle. I remember him swimming with me in the summer. I was older than Georgie, I think. I could swim on my own. We would be in a lake or the ocean offshore and he would silently disappear under the water, like a seal, and be gone for an impossibly long time. Then he would surface just as silently twenty yards away. He loved swimming and he especially loved swimming underwater. Another of his specialties was the running dive, something he passed on to all his sons. We are three running-dive experts. He used to talk about how smoking had made it harder to hold his breath, though you would never know it from his numerous submarine voyages. And besides, officially, he didn't smoke.

On Georgie's first day at the Clifton School, I walked with her and her classmates down the road to the Eagle. Georgie was nervous about her new class and was happy I was staying with her.

Ray fell while running down the sidewalk and scraped his knee. The teachers had brought a wagon o' snacks and water. It was one of the first really hot days of summer.

We sat on the field that day in July, boiling in the heat. The field overlooks the pool and one of Georgie's new friends pointed out that one of the swimmers was going underwater while wearing sunglasses. Conner, I think, said, "My dad does that, too". I told him that my father did the same thing. Georgie who had not said a word piped up with, "His dad died, he died". Conner found this an alarming idea, that a dad could be dead so I attempted a little damage control. This lead to questions about how he died. More of the children were listening now. I wished I hadn't said anything. Thankfully, Miss Sonia took the conversation in another direction. I was off to a good start with these kids.

Now summer is almost here again, and that day seems like a long time ago. Georgie loves her class and her friends. Almost all of them were at her birthday party. Ray and his family are gone now, moved to Seattle. Georgie said she cried at nap time on Ray's last day. In one of her reports from the school, there is a photograph of that day at the Eagle with Georgie and her friends from the Oak room.

I often think of my dad when I am with the girls. Being father to two little ones brings back good memories of my childhood, none better than swimming with Dad.