The pool here at the Harris Ranch is spectacular. Olympic size, not chlorined, perfect temperature. If I had a pool like this available I’d swim every day. I swam about 10 laps yesterday, crawl and breaststroke, exulting. I watched a little boy with his dad. The kid was a water sprite. He loved it.
It reminded me of teaching swimming (when in college). I specialized in kids who were deathly afraid of the water. There was a skinny little say 6-year old kid in Santa Cruz, and he’d probably had a water trauma, because he trembled when in the pool, wouldn’t get his face near the water. His mom really wanted him to get over it.
I started him blowing bubbles, then harder and harder until his face was getting splashed. Then floating a short distance to pool’s edge, face down. Progress. OK Eric, I said, I want you to ride on my back and we’ll swim around. After I got him to relax a bit and loosen up on his choke hold on my neck, I started swimming. Then blowing bubbles as we swam. He got comfortable. OK Eric, I want you to take a breath and close your eyes and we’ll go under water. We dove. Then under water with his eyes open, and voilà, Eric became a swimmer.
Amazing talent with water fear kids…
I love this story of overcoming fear of water….it can be applied to many other areas of "fear"…."false evidence appearing real". on the crops….of the Valleys in Californian….I was under the impression that the trees were drip irrigation…no? yep, it's still from the underground aquifer. thanks for the old photos….I grew up in Sacramento.
thanks for sharing.