Trust only what you know..
You know in those horror movies where you scream at the stupid person (usually a woman), “DO NOT LOOK DOWN THE OLD ABANDONED WELL!!!!”...Well, it was something like that… I had scheduled a swim analysis on Saturday and was anxiously waiting in the lobby of the corporate office of Endless Pools in Aston, Pa for my turn when a (I am sure had too much coffee) middle aged man with a jovial ski hat comes barreling in...
“Sorry I am late”….he is wildly exclaiming in his NOT INSIDE VOICE… pointing his arm left and right as he explains to the receptionist and everyone now watching him in the lobby his tale of woe that his car broke down, that it was actually not his normal car he had loaned out his car to one of his workers and had taken the work truck, and that thank goodness a friend lived nearby… that he made it..whew… because he lived an hour or so away.. above Marsh Creek he says..
UH OH.. my ears perked up.. So let’s go back to the point where you scream.. “DO NOT LOOK DOWN THE ABANDON WELL!!!..”. Of course if I could control what comes out of my mouth I may actually get a gold star but no.. of course I say.. THAT’S where I LIVE!!! I live out there near Marsh Creek too! (Like I was suppose to win a prize by announcing to everyone in the lobby where I live.)
This stops the jovial man and he gives me a nice nod.. i shrink and look away as this really served no purpose in the grand scheme of things.. um yeah.. little peanut I am … just going to sit over here and … next group… they call my group for our analysis… whew.. oh no.. guess who’s in my group.. yeah.. ok.. sh-t… .
So it’s me, LIVELY MAN (L Man), Mary (a middle aged woman like me), and the kid (thinking he was like 12?)… we are a group and we headed to the back for our swim analysis. Two to a pool they say and Mary and I quickly pair up leaving the kid and L Man to attend to themselves.
Mary and I put on goggles, a swim cap, she her nose plug and me my ear plugs.. and in the pool we go.. I SAY KINDA LOUDLY to our two analysis people that I have ear plugs in (pointing to MY ears)… and I MAY TALK TOO LOUDLY (still pointing to my ears).. so IF I AM YELLING I AM SORRY I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HEAR...sorry… WHAT WAS THAT!??
HMPH… the endless pool has a mirror on the bottom and cameras positioned on the side, top and bottom so you could see yourself swim… we get to do a test swim so they could calculate our pace. I think the one analysis man enjoyed much too intensely hitting me on the head with the swim noodle while yelling STOP... Yes I HEARD THAT.. EVERYONE HEARD THAT..
So now was the time to actually record our strokes and Mary went first. Two minutes later it was my turn…OK>. MY TURN! Swim, Swim.. and..the bastard is hitting me on the head again with the noodle… STOPPPPPPPPPPP.. I CAN HEAR YOU I AM NOT DEAF!!!! ..I smile and they say there is a problem ..the system is locked up… it appears that mid MY swim the computer system filming just LOCKED UP.. froze..
I think about this for a second and told them it MUST BE MY ELECTRO MAGNETIC PERSONALITY… oh yeah and then I remembered I still had my earplugs in… so now EVERYONE in the next room and down the hall heard that too. OOPS sorry.. inside voice..
So I sit in the pool with just my little head sticking out of the water… doe eyed… fahlahaalhaahlaaa… I float on my back.. I look back over and then float on my side.. and back over… So they bring in the big guns.. the owners and such and the analysis dude says it’s her fault.. pointing to me… she’s trouble.. and they proceed to then all look at me....:( Mary at this point had given up ALL hope of ever getting back in and proceeded for her towel.
HMPH… so we are reunited with L Man and the kid and all four of take turns doing the drills prescribed… ….OH yeah forgot to mention right before our analysis we had to sit for a 10 min demo on endless pools.. a pitch for the sale of the pools and L Man asks loudly over the table if I can drive him home since I live near him.
F- me … why did I open my big old mouth!!. I hope he didn’t see my head go down and sigh.. UGH! Of course I said smiling in my nice voice…. SO L Man says to me after our drill session I will see you out front! Great..cant wait.
As we are walking out the owner of the midatlantic multi sports is there talking with us and I said to the owner….. OH btw if I end of dead.. he (pointing to L Man) has killed me.. I just met him and now I have to take him home… EEP
If they at Midatlantic multisport and/or Endless pools don’t remember me I don’t know who ever will… … I just wish and pray that my hand stays over my mouth in the future..
I have to admit, there was something that I liked about my passenger… during the hour ride home he proceeded to tell me a bit about himself but not in an arrogant bullish way but just casually answering my questions which you all know are all centered around racing, training, and pace and such…
I personally don’t believe much of what people say until I look up their results because people tend to have a habit of over exaggerating a bit so when he said he was a 7:30ish pace runner, almost placed in a half ironman, and biked to his NJ beach house I was like sure.. cool.. (thinking you know damn well I am going to look this up)
But what I found out later after my curiosity got to me that not only was he truthful, he underestimated things, not only did he almost place in a very large half ironman, in fact did it in a time that surpasses many age groupers I know and he didn’t just build houses he OWNED the company that built the houses.
Funny… when he stepped foot into my car he had to move stuff off the passenger seat including a pheasant feather and he said to me.. a pheasant feather? I said yup…
Trust only what you know..
I hope that the life I live makes an impact on people.
PS: I am sure there is a reason that I met this unique individual and perhaps one day he and his family will cross paths with me and my family.. and perhaps maybe in a way that will reshape our lives...
