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"Take me to the river, drop me in the water"
"Dip me in the river, drop me in the water"
D. Byrne - December 1983
Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense
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I've been sitting here trying to write about this past weekend now for the better part of two hours and I can't really get a good flow going so I'll just do that "stream of consciousness" thing and see what falls out of my head. My apologies in advance if you came in search of anything remotely literate.
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We're back from the river, had a fantastic time.
We packed Thursday night. We left Friday morning, late. Stranded on Interstate 75 around Tifton. Midday. Summer. South Georgia. Heat. Sticky. Sweat. Gnats. Ugh.
Death. Accident with fatalities. Sad. Yeah somebody rolled their SUV, died. Leslie had a really tough time with that. I felt all pragmatic and logical about it. Sad circumstance, even stranger emotions on my part. I'm not sure what to make of that.
After the accident delay, we were back on the road. 85 - 90 mph. Invincible. What wreck?
We get to the cabin and size it up for the better part of eight minutes and then head for the dock. The river's beauty? I want to say breathtaking, but that'd be hokie. The river was beautiful. I step in, I'm up to my "turtle" in silt. The water is cold, but more of a refreshing cold. The heat index is around 100 degrees. The water...72. It reminds me of ice water poured down my back at an Atlanta Braves game one July day when I was fourteen. Spiteful, but welcome.
We snorkle (or is it snorkel?). We swim for hours. Underwater, just below the surface anyway. Exploring. Flying in the current. The current is so strong it makes my skin ripple. That ripple effect reminds me of that Closer video... "You Get Me Closer to God". Jeff breaks the surface and says he's found a fossil. The first of many.
Later on we're back at the cabin. Dinner. We are so tired. We sleep early, fast and hard.
Leslie and I, tangled in a double bed with our feet hanging off, snuggled together like we never do in our bed at home. There's a joke in there somewhere, I just don't want to dig it out.
Saturday back in the water- tubing. The scenery is something out of a fever, the saturation of the colors, the shapes. The cypress trees with their bell bottom trunks give the whole place a fairytale feel. Cathedral like.
Click on the picture for more.
We're back swimming. Jeff readies the scuba gear and goes down. Only bubbles surface. An hour later, he's up... Now I get a chance to dive. I get weighted-down, belted-up, hosed all over. I haven't been diving since I got certified. I loved diving. I just didn't go back. Know what to drop if, what to let go of... if you get into trouble! Remember not to panic- you've got 60 seconds. All this is racing through my head as I'm getting ready.
Then I slip underwater.
Quiet.
Bubbles.
I play with a fish. Relieved it's not an alligator.
Quiet.
I find a fossil, then another. Then another, then a tooth! How cool is that?!
Quiet. Only bubbles.
6/28/2004 09:15:08 PM
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