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Even though the Ole Geezer was born an “inlander”, water has been a significant part of his life. Some parts positive and others negative; some sad, some happy. He was just a few minutes old and they dowsed his warm scrawny little body with water. That poor little critter screamed like a’ hog bein’ lead to the slaughter house. It was 20 degrees BELOW ZERO outside when he was born. I mean, can ya blame him……….He was cold! Then when he was still a scrawny little baby, they had some preacher feller, while a’talkin’ ta God in German, sprinkle cold water on the baby’s head. That runt of a kid screamed at the top of his voice again…………It was BELOW ZERO outside that day also.

When the Ole Geezer was a few years older he didn’t scream quite as much, even though he was still a pretty scrawny little kid. Saturday nights on the farm was “bath night”. Mama would put a bucket or two of cistern water in a three foot by three foot wash tub, add a little hot water from a T-kettle that had been heated up on the wood/coal cook stove in the kitchen, and the kids each got scrubbed and bathed. Next Mama took a quick bath and then Daddy……And all used the same water……. But ya gotta understand that water was a scarce commodity in them olden days. ……….. They all used the same water? …….. Yep. …….. Oh…….. And then the used bath water was fed ta the hogs. Very little went to waste in those post Depression Days.

Larger bodies of water soon became a part of his young life. The Ole Geezer, called “Jimmy”, when a young’un, got to be tossed around in the Big Ditch by the hired hands at the end of a grain thrashing day to wash off the grain chaff and dust. Jimmy was part of the crew ’cause he was the “water monkey” at six years of age. but you probably read that in a previous story. A year or two later Jimmy learned to do the “mud crawl” in the irrigation ditch that flowed past the farm house.

Jimmy had a cousin, Ronnie, who at 18 months got caught in an irrigation ditch culvert and tragically drowned. Jimmy along with several other young cousins and friends were asked to be pallbearers. Jimmy didn’t understand, ‘Why did they call them pallbearers; when it was Ronnie they were carryin’, not some guy named Paul.” Also, Jimmy had been to a Sunday School a time or two and heard a story about this Jesus feller who laid hands on a dead guy and made him wake up. So when he had the opportunity, Jimmy went in alone into the room where Ronnie was layin’ in the casket, laid his hands on that cold little body and tried to get him to wake up. Nothin’ happened except an adult came in and made Jimmy skedaddle out’a there. When they carried that casket to the cemetery and after a short time buried it, Jimmy, in his heart was pretty upset and confused. It seemed to him that Ronnie was just asleep. Why did they do this? Why? Jimmy was only about 8 years old at the time so it took a while before he learned on his own that Ronnie’s soul was alive and in heaven. Then he felt better. Even so, that was a tough water related event in his young life.

When Jimmy was ten, Daddy got sick, had to sell out and move the family from the farm into town. Jimmy didn’t have his horse, Barney, any more (’cause he was sold in the farm auction also),so at age 11 Jimmy got a bicycle and learned to ride it. The house Daddy bought for them was on the south side of town and was a block away from a city park that had a fenced in public Olympic size pool. Jimmy could “dog paddle” around in the shallow end of the pool, but that’s about it. One hot July day the pool was closed for cleaning, but Jimmy was in the mood for “swimming”. Two of his new friends, Bobby and Eddie, suggested they ride their bikes to the rain water filled gravel pits located behind the Sugar Beet Factory, which was about eight blocks away. When they got there it was decided that even though it was a forbidden and off limits place, they’d go for a quick dip in that water to cool off. They didn’t really go skinny dippin’; they was all a’wearin’ underwear. Bobby had taken a few lessons and could swim somewhat. Eddie was in the same league as Jimmy, he could dog paddle as long as he could stand up when he stopped swimming. There were two planks that other people had nailed together to use as a raft in the water. Bobby and Eddie took turns on the raft, paddling out to the center and back. The pit was approximately 30 feet in diameter and at least 15 feet deep in the middle. “Come on Jimmy, it’s ur turn…..Chicken…….come on, you try it”, Eddie and Bobby taunted.

Jimmy succumbed to their harassing, crawled on the raft and paddled out to the middle of the pit. All of a sudden he accidentally slid off the raft and couldn’t reach it. He tried dog paddling, but just couldn’t manage to keep his head above water. and was only bobbin’ up and down….each time gettin’ more water than air in his lungs. Just as he was going down for the third time, Bobby swam out to him and between the two of them thrashing around they finally got back to shore; vomitin’ and sick from all the water they’d swallowed, ……………. but alive.

They never went back to, or swam in the gravel pits again. ……… Jimmy enrolled in the next available swimming class at the pool and learned to do more than just dog paddle. He never became a speed swimmer, but built up his confidence and endurance in the water.

Being so confident (maybe over confident) in open water can and did have a negative as well as a positive effect on the Ole Geezer. A number of events occurred in the Ole Geezer’s life where, even though he had become a fairly good swimmer, he still almost drowned, several times. It wasn’t until he was about 69 years old that he finally admitted to himself that he really wasn’t part fish.

During his short navy career, while stationed at the Naval Airbase in Jacksonville, Florida, the teenager Ole Geezer on one particular weekend liberty went to Silver Springs, FL. He went swimming in the source of a 160 foot deep spring fed river. Because this former farm kid was so enchanted with the beauty of the deep, clear water, beautiful fish and underwater vegetation, he accidentally swam into a forbidden area of the spring, Forbidden due to a strong and treacherous undercurrent. He’d put on a pair of goggles and fins, had taken a deep breath and swam deeper and deeper, enthralled and entranced by the surrounding underwater splendor. Before he knew it, he had gone down close to 40 feet in depth and suddenly realized he desperately needed air. With he lungs starvin’ for oxygen, he kicked frantically to the surface. He made it to the top exhausted and bleeding from the nose and ears. He had surfaced from too deep, too fast. To get back to the safety of the dock he now had to swim against a very strong current a considerable distance, and he was very tired. It was a battle, but he finally made it and when he did, promptly puked his guts out while still bleeding from his nose and ears. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb. Fortunately he sustained no permanent injuries. Did he learn a lesson from this? What do you think?

About a month later he was transferred to the Naval Airbase in Memphis, TN, to attend a naval aviation structural mechanic school. While stationed there, an opportunity arose for him to learn to become a Life Guard. He volunteered and soon he could swim 50 yards underwater without surfacing, swim a minimum of one mile free style, tread water for several hours, tow a dead weight person at least 150 yards, etc. As a life guard on base he no longer had to stand guard duty or fire watches. Instead he became a life guard at the base’s four swimming pools and two man-made lakes. Now, rather than a set of dungarees or a dress whites uniform and totin’ a 45 cal. pistol or an M-1 rifle, his uniform, while on guard duty, was a pair of swim briefs and a whistle, etc. The personal benefits of being on life guard duty far outweighed the other guard duties even though the responsibilities were greater. Now he was guarding lives sorta’ one on one rather than property, and many of the lives, among others, were those of pretty girls. In all actuality it was rather boring duty …….. except he enjoyed all the swimming he was able to do. Only twice during his short stay at this base, and as a life guard, did he have to assist in minor rescue situations, both with positive and successful results.

Over the next five decades numerous water related incidents occurred in the Ole Geezer’s life; some sad, some tragic, some amusing and humorous. (Fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, and/or Navy related, etc.) In the future, if there is enough interest indicated and/or time, perhaps we will dwell on some of them in detail.

We are closing with this thought. The Ole Geezer was 69 before he realized that what he thought would be “golden years” for his mind and body were becomin’ “corroded or rusty years”. Spiritually, however, it has been more golden than rusty. There have been occasions, however, when the Lord has had to sort’a smack him in the forehead with a 2X4 to get his attention. Perhaps we will site some examples at a later date.

You don’t suppose the “rusty years” are from bein’ “water logged” do ya? Hmmm…. I wonder?

Papa (Jim Diede)