Have you ever almost drowned? (Like Jorge)

[JuanHamm]

I haven't.

[spike]

Yeah at a pool party when I was a kid

Also got caught in the undertow in Florida just after high school

[tragabigzanda]

There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

[JuanHamm]

Yeah at a pool party when I was a kid

Also got caught in the undertow in Florida just after high school

What happened at the party

[JuanHamm]

I got caught in a riptide once when I was like 17 and just did what I was taught: Let it pull me way out until it stopped, then swam in to shore at an angle. No big deal at the time, but were it to happen today I'd probably be scared to death of sharks.

I've always feared this happening to me. How far out did it drag you?

[tragabigzanda]

There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

[dad]

I got caught in a riptide once when I was like 17 and just did what I was taught: Let it pull me way out until it stopped, then swam in to shore at an angle. No big deal at the time, but were it to happen today I'd probably be scared to death of sharks.

I've always feared this happening to me. How far out did it drag you?

yeesh, I don't know, this was 25 years ago. Maybe 1.5 football fields?

no thanks.

[BurtReynolds]

No. I am a great swimmer. Like a fish.

[doug rr]

boogie boarding in fire island

[Strat]

Yes. Got turned upside down in my kayak and couldnt roll back up and couldnt get the skirt off for a bit. Quite terrifying really. Finally was able to get one more heave ho and tear the skirt, grabbed the boat and swam to shore and hiked the rest of the way out with it over my shoulder along the train tracks.

Oh, and on the hike out a train came. So, had to ditch the boat and go down the bank to miss the train.

Not a good night for strat.

[tragabigzanda]

There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

[tree_]

I almost drowned once. I was on vacation with my family, enjoying the beautiful beaches of a tropical paradise. The sun was shining, the water was warm, and everything was perfect. That is, until the day I almost drowned.

It started as a normal day. I was swimming in the ocean, enjoying the waves and the saltwater spray. But as the day went on, the waves started to get bigger and stronger. I didn't think much of it at first, but soon I found myself struggling to stay afloat.

I tried to swim back to shore, but the waves kept pushing me back. I could feel myself getting tired, and I knew I needed to conserve my strength. But then, a particularly large wave crashed over me, and I was pulled under.

I tried to swim back up to the surface, but something was pulling me down. It felt like a slimy tentacle wrapped around my leg, dragging me deeper into the water. I could feel the panic rising in my chest, and I knew I had to fight if I was going to survive.

I kicked and thrashed, trying to break free, but the thing clinging to me was too strong. I couldn't see what it was, but I could feel its grip tightening around my leg. It was pulling me down, deeper and deeper into the dark water.

I started to lose hope. I was running out of air, and I didn't know how much longer I could hold on. Just when I thought it was all over, I saw a glimmer of light in the distance. It was a boat, coming to my rescue.

The crew pulled me aboard, but the thing was still with me. It wasn't going to let me go without a fight. I could feel its grip tightening, trying to drag me back under the water. It was a terrifying experience, and one that I'll never forget.

Looking back on that day, I realize how close I came to losing my life. It's a reminder that even the most beautiful and peaceful places can be dangerous, and that we should always be aware of the risks when we venture out into the world.

[tragabigzanda]

There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

[Anders]

No

[doug rr]

Oh damn I did have a second one I forgot about:

I was surfing in Costa Rica. Prior to that trip, I’d done nothing bigger than like a 4’ wave. Thought I’d try a 10’ wave like Eddie Vedder.

That thing put me on the ocean floor (beach break thankfully), dragged me quite a ways, and I was completely powerless. Came up just when it felt like my lungs couldn’t take any more. My back was shredded, just bleeding top to bottom, and my whole body hurt for two days after.

I went straight back to 4’ waves after that.

I banged my knee up real bad surfing once and was on crutches but I dragged my ass to a PJ concert and ed yelled at me..

[spike]

Yeah at a pool party when I was a kid

Also got caught in the undertow in Florida just after high school

What happened at the party

It was at the Y or something, and I went into the deep end a bit too far. Kids everywhere so there were a lot of waves and such, and I was struggling. My buddy’s dad had to jump in and save me. I’ve never been a strong swimmer.

[tragabigzanda]

There is a wolf in me . . . fangs pointed for tearing gashes . . . a red tongue for raw meat . . . and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me . . . a silver-gray fox . . . I sniff and guess . . . I pick things out of the wind and air . . . I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them and hide the feathers . . . I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me . . . a snout and a belly . . . a machinery for eating and grunting . . . a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me . . . I know I came from salt-blue water-gates . . . I scurried with shoals of herring . . . I blew waterspouts with porpoises . . . before land was . . . before the water went down . . . before Noah . . . before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me . . . clambering-clawed . . . dog-faced . . . yawping a galoot's hunger . . . hairy under the armpits . . . here are the hawk-eyed hankering men . . . here are the blonde and blue-eyed women . . . here they hide curled asleep waiting . . . ready to snarl and kill . . . ready to sing and give milk . . . waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird . . . and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want . . . and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

[Higgs]

[E.H. Ruddock]

In college I was a lifeguard at the beach one summer. Two kids got caught in the rip tide/undertow so when I swam out to the first one, he was panicking and flailing and pulled me under with him. We were under for what seemed like forever. When we came back up another lifeguard was there to calm him down and help him while I gathered myself and went to the other kid, who was much calmer. Fortunately everyone made it in.

[BurtReynolds]

water is scary