The Angel, Sonny and me

Seven years of water polo, swimming championships, life saving medals, 400 m swims, even diving (!) had all conspired to make me a little over-confident in the water.

Some years ago, I went down to the beach after work in the early twilight. The seas were calm, weather fair and about a dozen happy souls were gayly splashing about in the glittering sun and sea.

I frolicked freely in that whorish surf for about a half an hour. I was in my element and feeling on top of the world. Then it dawned on me that I was the furthest out by some distance and that my 12 fellow swimmers had morphed into 2.

I tried to keep surfing and swimming my way to the beach, but after awhile of trying my strongest strokes I came to the conclusion that I was caught in a rip. In its wisdom, the sea had decided to capture me and as it turned out, it didn