Til I reach drier ground...

Since I'm from one of the flooded areas, you are correct. That man went and saved a 10 yr old girl because she couldn't swim. I can swim and I made sure that both of my kids had swimming lessons. It is great exercise and takes the pressure off of your joints. I do have a fear of water over my head due to a white water rafting accident in college ( my black butt should have never gone). It was a required trip in a class that I took in college but I didn't have to go rafting but I didn't want to be the only one not going, but I was the ONLY black person in the class and on the trip. Not fun !!!!!

Learn to swim my fellow people, it could save your life and let your children get lessons from the Y while they are young before they develop a fear.

 I agree.  I most certainly agree.

Hi Double Ayy, well I'm from Florida and have a real phobia of big bodies of water.  No lie when I was baptized I acted such a fool crying (IT'S TOO DEEP) that they let some of the water out.  I was terrified and to this day my family tease me about it.

 @ when I was baptized I acted such a fool crying (IT'S TOO DEEP) that they let some of the water out. 

I've seen that happen at a church I once belonged to in the past.   I thought that it was a show or something but turns out that the person was actually scared.  We've got to do better y'all. 

Did you ever learn how to swim though?

Are you kidding?  No sir, never interest me.  Unfortunately I did pass that phobia on to my son.

You're killing me over here, Play-Cuzzin.  Not only did you turn your back on it, but you've got Jr. over there poo-poo'in' on the idea too. 

 Jesus wept.

Okay.  Okay.  I see Imma have to talk to my pastor (If I ever find one) about you and see if he can send up a special sumpin-sumpin to the big man upstair to hopefully get you out into the water (and not actin the fool this time too) and learn how to swim.  We need to know.  There's far too much water on this planet to not know how to swim.  Plus it's fun.   

You right.  We can't swim for sh*t!  When I was in Marine Corps Boot Camp years ago, one of the qualifications we had to complete was water survival.  Basically had to walk through shallow water with a weapon, float in deeper water with a pack on our backs ( the pack floats so no biggie) and swim 25 meters freestyle....that was the problem. 

They line up errybody who made it the first try and separate errybody that didn't.  Of course I found myself in the line who didn't make it.  And guess who ALL else was in the line too?  It was all cats who looked just like me!!!

We had mastered errything else.  Doing head stands on top of the packs and sh*t.  But that  25 meter swim was kicking our @zzes.  We tried to justify why we were having such a hard time.  Somebody came up with the theory (or fact) that African Americans, in general, have more lean tissue than our caucasian counterparts and that the heavier more dense muscle tissue sank faster than the fattier tissue of our counterparts. 

Be that as it may, the fact remained that we still coundn't swim for sh*t. 

That's wild how y'all tried to justify not being able to swim based on the dense muscle tissue theory.  I'll bet it was started by a brother that just didn't want to get his 'fro wet. 

A similar thing happened to this brotha from "tha block" who I grew up with.  During boot camp, his Navy drill instructor took him and the rest of his platoon all out to sea and told them all to jump into the ocean.  He and all of the white guys began diving in head first he said, while the rest of the brothas, minus him of course, were left standing on the side of the ship scared ****less at the thought of jumping in.  Finally, one by one, the head drill instructor had the other drill instructors throw the remaining men on the ship into the water.  He said it was the scariest day of his life to see how terrified these black men were as they yelled, kicked, and screamed not to be thrown into some water. 

He still thanks me and the rest of the other katz he grew up with for dragging him along when we used to go hop the fence at the neighborhood pool back in the day when it was closed so that we could teach him how to swim.

Funny that I would come to BAF and find this discussion because I was just having it with my sister earlier today.  I've got an in-ground pool in my backyard and can' t swim a lick.   I grew up in the country so wasn't no YMCA or swimming lessons to be had.  It was the beach, lake or bayou of which I was NOT about to even go near out of my fear of being eaten alive by alligators or piranha's or something .  The most you will see me in the pool is my feet dangling over the edge or I'll lounge on the inflatable floaty thing.  My kids have taken swimming lessons numerous times but I don't think they actually learned how to swim the proper way.  

I know it's a shame.....I'm gonna put my baby in swimming lessons this summer.   

                                              

                                                              


                                                                                               





                                                                                                                                                                                      Embrase your fear.  Go get some swimming classes, Yo.