Taking A Dive

04/23/05

Taking A Dive

"The Doctor will see you now, Mr. Kinesia".
Chris got up slowly from the chair in the waiting room with a series of grunts and groans and with the aid of a cane made his way down the hall. As he took his familiar spot on the leather couch, the Doctor entered through another door and sat down.

"Well, how are we doing" the Doctor asked.

"I've been having vivid recollections of my youth and came to realize how important these events were in my life".

The Doctor said "Please go on".

"When I was 14, I went to a bluegrass festival in Missouri with some fellow musicians. On the way, we stopped In Farmington to visit some friends we'd met at another festival. The family was barely getting by yet they were all healthy folks (with white teeth) who went barefoot in the summer. The boys close to my age already knew how to drive at an early age and where all the cool hangouts were along the river just a stone's throw from their front door."

Now, I was a city boy...I never thought of going barefoot in the summer. I swam in pools, not rivers. I wore glasses and didn't have any muscles to speak of. I didn't know how to drive and certainly didn't possess the knowledge of girls my friends had. We went to the river the next day to one of their favorite spots. I'll try to describe the river as I remember though my words fall short in describing it through the eyes of a 14-yr.old.

The river at this spot was about 30 feet wide, 10-12 feet deep and clear as can be. On one side was a campground. On the other side was a rock wall extending 100 feet from the river to the local highway above. There were several rocks that rose from the bottom but which were only visible as you climbed higher up the rock wall.

My friends swam across the river and began to scale the rocks to their favorite diving places. I had been off a high diving board before so the height didn't bother me but trying to avoid submerged rocks was a different matter. Since I took off my glasses to swim, I tried to aim where everyone else did. But then someone dove from a much higher and less familiar place and the ante was raised."

Chris paused and asked for a cup of water. The Doctor got up and poured some for Chris and said "Please continue when you're ready". Chris drank his water slowly as he slipped back into the story.....

"The new location was set back from the previous spots so you had to dive out to clear those other locations. But this was not the challenge. There were skinny tree branches with leaves that blocked the view of the river below. This made it essentially a "blind dive" through the tree branches. I let one of my friends go before me and heard his excited voice as he surfaced though I couldn't see him. I went next.

The thoughts of what could happen if I overshot (or undershot) my mark never came up. I simply dove at the same spot in the tree branches as my friend had. As I broke through the foliage and saw I was clear of the submerged rocks, I was ecstatic.

As we dried off in the afternoon sun, I remember feeling great about what had happened earlier. Now, years later I try and piece together what it meant."

Chris stared off in the distance and paused for another sip of water. The Doctor coughed and made some brief notes. Chris continued...

"I think I won the respect of my peers that day. My self-confidence was bolstered by later taking first place in the banjo contest at the festival we were headed to that weekend.

I'll never forget the feeling of breaking through the cover of leaves and seeing the water rushing up to meet me. I was in the prime of my youth and I had the whole world at my feet......."

The Doctor interrupted Chris "It's time to stop for today."

Chris sat up slowly and looked down at his trembling hands. They were covered with liver spots and realized he had acquired his father's hands.

The Doctor said "Take your time, Chris" and then exited through the same side door. Chris had been coming to this same guy for ther last few years and usually talked about his journeys with Parkinson's Disease. PD had taken his life away bit by bit over the last 15 years and sometimes it all seemed too much.

Chris slowly placed his feet on the ground and got up slowly. He told the secretary "Goodnight" as he made his way to the elevator and pushed the button. The doors opened and he shuffled inside.

Outside, his wife, Ann, paced up and down the sidewalk.
"All I know is he said to meet him here....damn him! He can barely get around for God's sake......why is he so damned stubborn about having me help him? Why?"

Chris opened the door to the Roof Level and shuffled onto the tar and gravel as he walked to the edge, sat down and began to softly sing:

"When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me...."

And then he leaned forward..................



		04/23/05 Taking A Dive "The Doctor will see you now, Mr. Kinesia". Chris got up slowly from the chair in the waiting room with a series of grunts and groans and with the aid of a cane made his way down the hall. As he took his familiar spot on the leather couch, the Doctor entered through another door and sat down. "Well, how are we doing" the Doctor asked. "I've been having vivid recollections of my youth and came to realize how important these events were in my life". The Doctor said "Please go on". "When I was 14, I went to a bluegrass festival in Missouri with some fellow musicians. On the way, we stopped In Farmington to visit some friends we'd met at another festival. The family was barely getting by yet they were all healthy folks (with white teeth) who went barefoot in the summer. The boys close to my age already knew how to drive at an early age and where all the cool hangouts were along the river just a stone's throw from their front door." Now, I was a city boy...I never thought of going barefoot in the summer. I swam in pools, not rivers. I wore glasses and didn't have any muscles to speak of. I didn't know how to drive and certainly didn't possess the knowledge of girls my friends had. We went to the river the next day to one of their favorite spots. I'll try to describe the river as I remember though my words fall short in describing it through the eyes of a 14-yr.old. The river at this spot was about 30 feet wide, 10-12 feet deep and clear as can be. On one side was a campground. On the other side was a rock wall extending 100 feet from the river to the local highway above. There were several rocks that rose from the bottom but which were only visible as you climbed higher up the rock wall. My friends swam across the river and began to scale the rocks to their favorite diving places. I had been off a high diving board before so the height didn't bother me but trying to avoid submerged rocks was a different matter. Since I took off my glasses to swim, I tried to aim where everyone else did. But then someone dove from a much higher and less familiar place and the ante was raised." Chris paused and asked for a cup of water. The Doctor got up and poured some for Chris and said "Please continue when you're ready". Chris drank his water slowly as he slipped back into the story..... "The new location was set back from the previous spots so you had to dive out to clear those other locations. But this was not the challenge. There were skinny tree branches with leaves that blocked the view of the river below. This made it essentially a "blind dive" through the tree branches. I let one of my friends go before me and heard his excited voice as he surfaced though I couldn't see him. I went next. The thoughts of what could happen if I overshot (or undershot) my mark never came up. I simply dove at the same spot in the tree branches as my friend had. As I broke through the foliage and saw I was clear of the submerged rocks, I was ecstatic. As we dried off in the afternoon sun, I remember feeling great about what had happened earlier. Now, years later I try and piece together what it meant." Chris stared off in the distance and paused for another sip of water. The Doctor coughed and made some brief notes. Chris continued... "I think I won the respect of my peers that day. My self-confidence was bolstered by later taking first place in the banjo contest at the festival we were headed to that weekend. I'll never forget the feeling of breaking through the cover of leaves and seeing the water rushing up to meet me. I was in the prime of my youth and I had the whole world at my feet......." The Doctor interrupted Chris "It's time to stop for today." Chris sat up slowly and looked down at his trembling hands. They were covered with liver spots and realized he had acquired his father's hands. The Doctor said "Take your time, Chris" and then exited through the same side door. Chris had been coming to this same guy for ther last few years and usually talked about his journeys with Parkinson's Disease. PD had taken his life away bit by bit over the last 15 years and sometimes it all seemed too much. Chris slowly placed his feet on the ground and got up slowly. He told the secretary "Goodnight" as he made his way to the elevator and pushed the button. The doors opened and he shuffled inside. Outside, his wife, Ann, paced up and down the sidewalk. "All I know is he said to meet him here....damn him! He can barely get around for God's sake......why is he so damned stubborn about having me help him? Why?" Chris opened the door to the Roof Level and shuffled onto the tar and gravel as he walked to the edge, sat down and began to softly sing: "When this old world starts getting me down And people are just too much for me to face I climb way up to the top of the stairs And all my cares just drift right into space On the roof it's peaceful as can be And there the world below can't bother me...." And then he leaned forward..................