Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

Next Swims:  Mon-Fri @ 6 am and 5 pm, Saturday/Sunday @ Noon

Last Swim:  Saturday, noon
Water Temp:  62 my ass 
Air Temp:  variable
Clarity:   5 of 10, and dropping, once the downspouts started flowing
Waves: Pretty flat, then pretty rain droppy
Kru:  Diablo, Cap'n, Patriarch, Showgirl, Itch, Dave, Julie, Hardware Hank, Moondawg, Whathisname, Magic Mike? Others?  

As I loaded the bag to head to the beach, it started to pore rain.  "A mere summer shower," says I, "twill pass by the time I drive to da beach."  It did.  Or so it let me think it did.  Things seemed all ducky as we walked down and surveyed the sky and the beautiful blue water.  We pretty much had the beach all to ourselves.  Showgirl or Itch took the temp, and declared a 62 degree reading.  Thus some of us (including yours truly), forgo the wetsuit (notice that "forgo" is spelled and used correctly).  Alas, the 62 temp was ephemeral, because as I dove in and swam, I was sensing the 50's, and a few areas of low 50's.  But hearty lot that the Kru is, what care we?  A little coolish water isn't going to kill or deter us, right?  Aye, but what will kill us, sure as God made little green apples, is lighting.  About 10 minutes into the swim I pop my head up and look South, to see heavy rain descending on Shorewood (but not Whitefish Bay, at least not yet).  "Maybe I should head back, " thinks I.  Then I hear thunder.  Holy crap, I should definitely head back.  I "Ahoy," a passing Showgirl, and alert her to the passing thunder, and we start high tailing it back.  On our way I see a Hank, I think still headed South, and "Ahoy," him.  "Hank, did you hear the thunder?"  "No, but I did see lighting."  I gesture an emphatic "let's head South," and we do just that.  I would have gotten out of the water immediately, but give the current erosion levels, there really was no good place to get out and walk, until very near Klode.  I don't know if keeping one's anus tightly clinched is much protection against getting struck by lighting while stupid swimming, but I found my body involuntarily doing just that.  I stayed shallow (swimming in about two feet of water), under the theory that if do die during this swim, maybe my body at least will float on to the beach sooner, rather than later.  On the way back the sky really opened up, and the rain really came down on us.  Thankfully, all the the Kru made it out of the water safely (we all got lucky).  Just another example of how quickly conditions can change from fine to dangerously stupid.  We should be looking at radar more closely, before we go into the Lake.  

And the really stupid thing of the day?  I got down to the beach without a towel.  Fortunately, The Great One, the Patriarch, loaned me one his towels.  And I was able to dry off.  In homage to his greatness, I have laundered it, wrapped it a round a full Pitszcht Bottle, tied a ribbon on it, and will either return it to him on Sunday, or drop it off at his house.  

Hey everybody, be safe out there (do as I say, not as I do).