Five Minutes of Fame

Five Minutes of Fame

I shimmied out of the extra swim suit I wore over my red New Smyrna Beach High School team suit, hopped onto the starting block, and bent to on-your-mark position almost in one motion. A Mad Magazine could be read through a dry team suit and wet—let’s just say the...
Hippie In the Headlights

Hippie In the Headlights

When I came up for air at the end of the last fifty yard sprint, my nemesis, Celeste, said, “Who’s that old hippie?” I peered at the far end of the pool thirty yards away where the girls in my lane stared. Dad. Stringy, dark blond hair fell on his shoulders as he...
Swimming Into Forever

Swimming Into Forever

I muscled through the pool, my chest heaving, as I stroked for the tile cross on the wall where my feet would hit in a flip turn. I bent at the waist, threw my legs over my head, and pivoted as the balls of my feet hit tile. A powerful thrust from my bent knees and I...