My Viêt Great-Granny told me about a chap who fell off the boat to (or coming back from) Indochina in the 30s, he spent 3 days (acc to her) floating on his back arms out at right angles & though he was burnt & dehydrated when they picked him up again, he was OK.
When I stayed with her (all summer hols from the age of 4 or 5) she used to make me swim out a km or so with her every day & then we'd float like that, she was working on the principle that as it had worked for him, it would work for me & I'd know what to do, when I fell off a boat.
We also used to take a big cork board on a string, to rest on if we felt like it or if we were swept away by a current etc etc.
She also insisted I 'learn to parachute' by doing parachute ascensionnel on the beach at Nice, it would come in handy, according to her, because I was such a frequent flier (and was too young to learn proper parachuting).
It is also thanks to her advice that I have a larder full of food & other essentials & can hold out for at least a month 'because you never know when there will be a war or a revolution or a flood etc'.
I had a close call earlier in the year. They had me on the operating table within days. I have nothing but praise for the French health service. I don't think you could get better care anywhere. I wish you every happiness.
I / we are so sorry to hear that you have been so much and equally so VERY pleased to hear that you are in remission and sounding so positive. Onwards and upwards indeed!
Sorry to hear that Celeste. I understand that there is treatment, but no cure. As it affects your immune system, you will have to find excuses for not kissing and shaking hands with everyone you meet. You are very lucky to have a loving family.
I hate to have to say this, but the statistics show that people who can swim are more likely to drown. That makes sense when you think about it, because non-swimmers tend to avoid water. Those most at risk are young adult males. Alcohol is often a contributory cause. Of course, definitions of "ability to swim" vary. The UK authorities, say 25m. I think the ability to stay in water for an hour, without hanging on, standing up or hauling out is more worthwhile target. People have accidents in water because of over-confidence or under-estimation of the risks, which amounts to the same thing. Occasionally, there are disasters that hit the headlines, such as the Herald of Free Enterprise, the Marchioness and more recently, the Costa Concordia. But every year there are several hundred individual drownings in the UK and roughly the same number in France, that do not hit the headlines. Most of these deaths occur within 250m of shore. Nobody seems to keep statistics of people who have been permanently brain damaged as a result of near-drowning, but we know that can happen and is often a greater disaster for their families, if that is possible. I love swimming. It is the nearest thing to flying that we can do without artificial aids. I would like to encourage everyone to learn. But like sex and cycling, we need to put more emphasis on how to do it safely.
But it is my life and normally I have no need to say what happened, only the way Mike unintentionally imposed I had never seen a tragedy comparable with a drowning or similar child brought it. However, when this thread goes 'to sleep' I will put it in the back of my mind and sentiments again. However, yesterday burying 'my' cat with one daughter we both cried freely, I have a sense of loss not so far removed from that of a fellow human being. He was part of our family and very affectionate with me. I shared the space we have happily. I already moss him along with numerous other cats, dogs, ferrets and the human beings of course.
Mike, hit the nail on the head. Some time or other in the 1970s, I unconsciously made a transition in my work and moved to research with children, starting with South American street children. I am still at it, the difference is that I no longer live on the street or in the communities for health reasons, travel little, but having seen I know the situation of the many of all ages against the minority of people who live in the 'European'/western/northern world. That keeps me sane, as ironic as saying that may seem.
Hi Brian, obviously none of us knew of such massive knocks in your life, and as far as it is possible we can try to empathise, but I don't think we, or at least I, really can.
I do know that as I look back over my perverse life I can only reflect on how deeply grateful I am now that I have never had family to grieve over or even to grieve over me.
However I do share the love of animals and when they go, it is desperately sad for me, as obviously they are a replacement for other things in my life. I see in our village where the doorsteps are directly onto the road,(not mine) and despite the 30kmh sign, people still dash through in their cars at ridiculous speeds - and it really can only cope with one vehicle in either direction and has blind spots. We have both domestic and stray cats who also use the road, but fortunately my two domestics and one adopted stray seem to avoid the road thank God, but others don't.
I am sure there is a tragedy about to happen as several of the neighbours are old and would not be able to skip out of the way of any lunatic in a car.
I refer to both human and animal neighbours as we all share the space.
Yet for Europeans, the last 70 years has been the safest time in human history. Freedom from war, law and justice, antibiotics, health care, pensions, social services...... So when tragedy strikes it is all the more shocking. Earlier generations lived precarious lives and early death was all too common, though their pain and sense of loss was no less. Sadly, many people in the World still live without our advantages.
But we cannot dissuade them, it was not place to tell a 17 year old what to do and it was freak accident. His mother was already dead by then, she was just ill one day then died the next. My older son, by a different mother who had died of an H overdose when he was only eight, was traumatised by it all. How can we tell our young anything when such chaos is around them. With my young daughters now I shall not tell my version of right and wrong, safe and dangerous either if they do not want me to. I am very happy they both swim, but many other dangers inhabit this world. That 17 year old died doing what he enjoyed, perhaps better than disillusioned and bitter later on in life but the sorrow was mine and always will be.
Celeste, You'll spend 30 or 40 years worrying how your children are going to get by in the world. Then suddenly you will realize they are worrying that you aren't safe to be left on your own. C'est la vie.......
A knows some of it, but girls don't, well the cat of course, and I rarely say anything about it, so I don't get much more than reminded but it ain't what a feller wishes he had to use to make a response.
You were not to know, but 24 years do not heal over. Got me at a bad time though, my favourite cat was run over yesterday and I had just buried him a few minutes before getting your comment. Oh well, life is a school of hard knocks.
I have an aversion to taking medicines and supplements, but I will try to increase my intake of fish, nuts, dark chocolate and bananas - more enjoyable that way!