I saw my dad save three people from drowning.
One of these occurred at Sterling State Park in southern Michigan on the shore of Lake Erie. It was not a big deal, as my father kept saying. Probably someone else would have acted – but if not, the consequences could have been dire. As it was, he was the only one who saw what happened.
My family would go to the park frequently in the summer. Dad would come home from work at 5:40 p.m. As he changed from jacket and tie to swim trunks and a T-shirt, our mom would load the picnic dinner and the kids into the car. In moments we were on our way from our home in Trenton, Michigan, to the park near Monroe.
One time another family joined us. They had children, but none were close to my age. One child was a baby girl. I don’t remember if she walked, or just crawled. There were lots of kids for the adults to watch, and preparations for dinner were in the works. The little girl found her way to the water’s edge – and into the water. She was face down in six inches of water. No one noticed this – except Dad. He jumped up from the picnic table, ran a couple of steps, and picked up the baby from the water.
Her parents were both ashamed of their inattention and extremely grateful to my dad. He downplayed the event as being minor, as being what anyone would do. He was right, of course, but the consequences, without his quick intervention, could have been horrific.
The other occasion happened at an inland lake well north of the Detroit area. Friends of my parents had a cottage there, and invited us to join them. We went there a few times, and I remember the lake was full of big perch that were easy to catch and delicious to eat.
The other family had a boy my age, Georgie. I suppose we were about 10. It was a fine summer day. Georgie and I decided to paddle around on inflated inner tubes. “Stay close by the dock,” we were told. “Remember there’s a drop-off.”
I was a good swimmer. Everyone in my family was a good swimmer. Georgie’s idea of paddling around in an inner tube sounded like fun. Off we went. We did stay very near the dock, in accordance with Georgie’s dad’s instructions.
A power boat came by much too close to us, and at a high rate of speed. The wake from the boat tipped us both over, and sent the inner tubes some distance away. It was then that I learned that Georgie couldn’t swim.
I decided I would swim to him and rescue him. We were only ten to fifteen feet apart. As I got closer to Georgie I saw he had an extremely wild lo
oking expression on his face and in his eyes. He was flailing the surface of the water in an unorganized way, barely keeping his head up. I occurred to me that if I got near him, he would grab onto me, and struggling, we’d both drown. I changed my plan. I reversed my direction and swam toward the nearest inner tube. I’d get it, and bring it to Georgie before he drowned.
As I raced toward tube I heard a splash, and then I heard another splash. I got to the tube and turned around. Georgie was at the dock, hanging onto it, and my dad was pulling Georgie’s dad to safety.
Georgie’s dad had seen what happened. He’d sprinted to the end of the dock, and jumped in. Georgie’s dad also couldn’t swim. He was standing on the bottom in ten feet of water holding Georgie up. This would work great, I suppose, until the dad passed out. My dad had hit the water moments behind Georgie’s dad. He grabbed Georgie, swam him back to the dock, and returned for Georgie’s dad. He rescued him too, diving down to get him, and took him the short distance to the dock. All was fine.
Naturally there was some discussion after this. I received positive comments for altering my plan and going after a tube rather than attempting a direct rescue. The power boaters, long gone and unknown, where soundly reviled for their irresponsibility.
I seem to recall my dad saying that Georgie should have had on a life jacket if he couldn’t swim, even though he was using an inner tube. I think the point was also made that, embarrassing as it might be, others should have been made aware that Georgie – and his dad – couldn’t swim.
