The Summer-Day I Almost Drowned!!

It was a beautiful "blue-sky carefree day", with the sun shining so bright, you had to wear your sunglasses, and the kind of day when you can "just see forever" in the beautiful sunshine! My husband and I, who are both good swimmers, and have lived around water all our lives, had decided to join in the festivities at the Broad River, as they were having the annual birthday party for the beautiful "Greenway" there, and the annual Ducky Regatta!! You know you buy a neat yellow ducky with your number on it, for a certain price, and then they set sail all the cute ducks, and have a point where they are retrieved to see who is the winner!! You do get a nice cash sum for the top prize, and all the other funds are given to keep the "Greenway" looked so
natural and inviting to all those folks who just love nature, and want to be "up close and personal" at the river-scene, with all those picnic tables, nature trails, and tons of hardwood trees galore! We have been members of the Greenway since it began many years ago, and love the programs they present there, even the "Ghost Walks" Country Music at the Old Cabin there, and the marathon races they have sponsored, as well as the annual birthday party, with
the tubing down the river, and they send the bus to pick you up way on down the river. This
year, there were "loads of folks" planning to go tubing down the lazy winding river, and enjoy all the beauty of the river, and along the riverbanks as well--the flowers, huge green trees, and the wildlife you can view along the way as well. We were among that crowd, and were so excited to get our big tubes and head on out to jump in the cool river water and begin our trip!
At first, we were in the midst of several tubing couples, and children, and as the water began to flow a bit faster, we were able to head on out of the crowd, and enjoying ourselves immensely all the while. It was just the perfect day for tubing, and afterward, they were serving a huge BBQ lunch to all the crowd, along with cake and ice cream for dessert, so we had lots of treats to look forward to after the tubing had ended!
We were so relaxed, slowly making our way down the winding, rushing waters, and I even
went on ahead of my husband for awhile, both of us singing those old songs, (you know, "cruising down the river, on a Sunday afternoon,etc. with one you love, the sun above", and we had passed the big crowd on their tubes by this time, so we could sing as loud as we wanted to!
All of a sudden, as I had begun to float backwards--not really looking where I was going, I
heard my husband yell, "Look Out", and just at that moment my tube with me in in went
crashing and tumbling over a small waterfall---needless to say I was under the water with
my hand still holding on to the tube, and I felt myself going down, down, way down into this
huge deep hole in the river, and I kept holding my breath, waiting to go back up to the top--
but I keep going deeper in the hole! I remembered what my Uncle had told me years ago,
about learning to swim, as he said someday I might be caught in a hole in the river and would have to swim out--or drown!! All of a sudden--I threw my tube out of my way, and began
swimming as hard and as fast as I could, as I knew I could not hold my breath much longer,
and if I opened my mouth--water would begin coming into my lungs and I would drown! I began praying that the Heavenly Father would give me more breath, so I could make it back up to the top of the water, and get fresh air, and be able to live, and not drown in the river!
Finally, I popped out of the water, gasping for air, and so happy to have made it without
losing my life down in the big hole there in the middle of the river at those falls! My husband
came rushing over to me, saw my hair dripping wet, and me still taking in big gusts of air to
replenish my depleted lungs, and he said, "I thought sure you had drowned, and I was going to
call for search parties to find you"!! I was so happy to be breathing fresh air, and talking to my
husband, and know that I could finish the tubing down to the buses, that I just absolutely shed a few tears of sheer joy to be alive!! I tried to smooth out my hair just a bit with my fingers, and
then we continued on down the river for the final portion of the tubing, and you can be sure,
I keep my face turned to see what was ahead of me on the rest of the lazy tubing down that
big river! When we finally got to the parking lot for the buses--several folks wanted to know
how I got my hair so wet---and I shared my story with them, about how I swam like crazy to get out of that swirling hole in the river near those waterfalls!
I was a lucky person to be able to swim out of that huge hole, and I do believe God gave me
some extra breaths, so I could make it, as my husband said I was "under the water so long", he thought I had drowned already, and he couldn't find me! Just remember, if you are ever caught in a predicament like that---throw your tube as fast as you can, and swim as if your life depended on it---and you'll come out alive and so very thankful!!
We ended up having a great time at the BBQ Picnic, and I was delighted to share my story
with others at our table about that "hair-raising experience in the mighty Broad River!"

The morale of this story is: "Keep up your swimming skills" as you never know when they may be needed!! You can save your life, or perhaps another as well!!