Posts By Angel
Categories
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
|
| | Spike vs. the Jellyfish
Posted on 7/21/2006 by Spike
Category:
|
Friday, July 21, 2006
So one of our last days in Italy, Luna and I journeyed to Pisa to find a beach. Find one we did, and it was absolutely lovely! Bathing suit optional, though most people were covered; clear, green, calm, warm, salty waters; and not a cloud in the sky. We bathed like betties in the sun, for too long, we would discover later, and took turns swimming..watching our stuff on the crowded beach.
During my last time in the water I noticed something: the young man swimming next to me was actually following me. I would swim one way, front crawl, and he would follow suit. I would rest, and he would stop too. I'd swim backstroke along the shore in the opposite direction; he, too would switch directions and strokes. I notcied during this, that he was not the best swimmer, but he gets an A for effort.
Curious, I stop once again, as does he, switch to swimming out deeper into the beautiful ocean, a nice steady breaststroke. He follows me out to the farthest sandbar. By now the situation is comical to me. The kid is too scared to talk to me, yet is clearly following me around. I smile at him, pull out the big guns, and start swimming parallel to the shore once again. Front crawl, fast. He follows. I slow down a bit, he catches up, then I speed up, leaving him in my dust. Once ahead, I stop one more time, and decide I should be getting back to shore. So, being tricky and coy, I dive under the surface and swim a fairly great distance underwater. When I come up for breath, I decide to pause, to make sure the guy is ok, that he is swimming back towards shore too, as he was a weaker swimmer than me and I suddenly felt guilty that he might, do I say, gone in over his head.
So I turn, and sure enough he is swiming in my general direction. Good. I turn back to begin my haul to shore. I pause. What is that thing three feet in front of me, swimming towards me? That cloudy-translucent shape undulating in the sea, turning itself inside and out to move about: Is it? OMG! It is! A jellyfish! Headed right for me and I can't see where the stingy tails end!
I performed an ESM (evasive swimming manuever) and moved myself out of harm's way.
Crap. The guy. I turn around, now on the shore side of the jelly, and wait for him. When he gets in earshot I start waving my arms frantically at him, Saying, 'No! There's a jellyfish! Look out!' He stops four feet from me, two from the jelly. He does not understand. He walks toward me. 'NO!' I point to the jellyfish. He looks to me. Looks at the fish. Looks at me, raises his hands as if to catch it. As if I wanted him to catch the jellyfish to impress me. 'NO! NO! NO!' I pantomime getting stung. He finally understands (take that, language barrier!) and side steps the sea creature. I shake my head in relief, and swim all the way back to shore, never once looking back, but constantly looking everywhere else around me. |
| |
|
|
