Much has happened to us all since
those few and fleeting years of our youth. I have been very fortunate
to have had a wonderful wife, Cheryl, five excellent children, Lisa,
Aaron, Paul, Corinne, and our youngest, three-year-old Perry. Those
early mornings at Brennan and long afternoons and evenings at Patton
were a good training ground for fatherhood of a toddler in your
fifties. We all enjoy physical activities. However the only "swimming"
we do nowadays is in the kiddie pool with Perry's guppy class at the
fitness center. I have fairly good health, a satisfying career and am
finally learning how to use this computer. (8/00)
Some Things I Remember:
Most of the strong memories are of the hard work and sacrifices
made to be a part of a truly unique athletic experience. It is
impossible not to recall the water temperature at Rouge Park. It's a
wonder we're not all blind from the heavily chlorinated water at Patton
that we were exposed to in the prehistoric days before goggles. But
there was real camaraderie between those age group swimmers that came
from all over the metropolitan area to benefit
from the coaching talent and peer
competition that fostered so many superior swimmers.
Reflections:
The notion of making choices and
experiencing sacrifice to attain a goal is possibly one of the more
adult lessons of life. Few of our friends at school or elsewhere could
appreciate that lesson and benefit from it as we all did. I suspect
that most of us are comfortable with the knowledge that we truly cannot
have our cake and eat it too. Fortunately, I'll bet that most of us are
also happy with the selections from the menu of life that we each have
made.
