Machibet777 Casino What an 80-year-old swimmer taught me about tenacity

In the quiet Virginia town where I live, an annual event draws fair attention: a long-distance swimming contest. The participants swim in a half-mile circle in the lake, twice to win the one-mile race and four times to win the top event, the two-mile race. The redoubtable champion this year was my friend, Stuart.“You did it, my friend,” we said proudly to Stuart in unison.Stuart has taken part at 20 times in the last 30 years, missing the times he had to travel for work. The triumph tasted sweeter this year because Stuart had hip replacement surgery barely three months before the event. A couple of friends had advised him to sit out the event this year. Stuart pondered, then decided to disregard their well-meant counsel. He was in town, he had time. He felt he couldn’t skip the event. He was 80. It was, if anything, all the more a reason to compete. He was not sure that the next year he would still be fit for endurance swimming.We were delighted at his feat. We had a party to celebrate his victory. Stuart sipped Pinot Grigio with a contented look and sat relaxed in a collarless cotton shirt and khaki chinos. He was a lean man, but he seemed particularly nimble that evening.The party thinned in the late hours, but the Pinot Grigio and hors d’oeuvres kept coming, I edged closer to Stuart.“Tell me, how did you get into distance swimming?” I asked.“Well, I am the kind of person,” replied Stuart, “who likes to set a goal and go for it. I don’t like to let go of a target. I pursue it doggedly, to the last dreg of my energy. I don’t know where my tenacity came from.” medium101507683He paused thoughtfully, “Maybe I do. My mother was a taskmaster. She wanted things done – done right. When I think of her, more than her affection I think of that.”He added, “Distance swimming, as you know, is a matter of persistence and discipline. You practice your stroke to perfection. Reach further and pull harder. You hone your breathing. Inhale fully, exhale completely. If there are waves, let the swell carry your body forward. Build your endurance. Warm ups, cool downs, sprints, even weight training. You keep going, day after day.”“What kept you going?”Stuart hesitated. “When I was four,” he began, “my uncle took me to a pond. He nudged me to the edge and without a warning, suddenly pushed me in. Maybe he thought my survival instinct will get me swimming. He was wrong. I splashed but I couldn’t begin to float. I kept sinking. I will never forget that moment of panic. Others pulled me out in time. I gasped. I survived.”“That memory never faded. I can still vividly recall those seconds of anxiety and sheer terror.”He resumed, “I grew up, but at the back of my mind was the vestige of that terror. And the countering instinct of trying to conquer the water. I took swimming lessons. Then I began long-distance swims.“I had joined the defence services and was assigned to the army. But my instinct intervened. I tried every which way and got myself transferred to the navy. For years I was a dedicated navy man. “I also swam. Regularly, rigorously. I became a good endurance swimmer. When I came to live in Virginia, I found a home right next to a lake. When I sit and read a book, I can look up and see the water. When I sip a drink, my eyes rest on the water. It is my friend and my adversary.”Stuart paused and took another sip of his wine.“For 30 years, I took part in the annual event. This year I had misgivings. As I swam my fingers froze. As I did the last half-mile, I wondered if my whole arm would freeze. It was tougher than any swim I had done before. But the taskmaster inside me had set a goal. I knew I would not give up. I would go to the end. I did. I won.”Most of the guests had left by now. The room was quiet. Outside, the lake glistened in the last rays of the sun. The water looked more friendly than adversarial. I looked at Stuart’s lean face, now placid and perfectly self-possessed in the reflected light. The winner took a long sip. He deserved it.Read more from the author here