…Have you ever thought of what it takes to be a real water-person? …Here’s a true tale that happened to me yesterday, Nov.16,2002. …I took my daughters Kayla(8yrs),Keani"ki-ki"(2-1/2yrs)to my favorite beach lot burger joint,“The River’s End” in Seal Beach.The Restaurant is located on the beach at the north-west end of Seal Beach on the L.A./O.C. boarder,where the SanGabriel river terminates.Better known as “Raybay”.After we ate lunch my older daughter begged me to let her go play on the sand bar down on the edge of the river.So I reluctantly took them over the rocks to this sand spit on the river’s end.With my good friend Wayne, we watch my daughters play,and collect Mickey Dees plastic balls scattered along the sand bar.I told my older daughter several times not to go near the water ,because the edge of the bar was soft and steep,with the river flowing fast,and deep,at low tide.My oler daughter was defient,and would push the limits of the sandbar’s edge.In a split second my younger daughter kiki ran up to the edge, and the bank collapsed.I was in horror as I ran to her.She went under twice, on the second dip I had reached her and pulled her up,and worked us both to the steep,soft bank.Lucky for us she held her breath during the event so no water damage occured.If I would have miss that chance at grabbing her,I probably wouldn’t have had a second chance,the water was deep,and moving at 12+MPH,DUE TO THE RECENT RAINS(cold!!)We quickly departed after that.It was a warm day,and the cab of my truck was hot so I stuck her in her seat and rapped her in a old afgan I keep in my truck. …This could have easily been the most tragic thing to have ever happened to me,INSTEAD it was a lesson to me and my daughters…God Bless all.Herb
…This could have easily been the most tragic thing to have ever > happened to me,INSTEAD it was a lesson to me and my daughters…God > Bless all.Herb Wow, Herb, good on you for so quickly averting tragedy! The story makes my blood run cold, since a) I’ve got a little 2 yr. old boy myself and b) I’ve never felt comfortable around rivers. Ocean waves I can handle, but river water scares me.
…Have you ever thought of what it takes to be a real>>> …This could have easily been the most tragic thing to have ever > happened to me,INSTEAD it was a lesson to me and my daughters…God > Bless all.Herb …Sorry,that’s my daughters,and myself.Herb
…Sorry,that’s my daughters,and myself.Herb Thank God you two only got a little adrenaline rush and a lesson learned. A classmate of mine in grammar school was not so lucky one winter just up the creek from Doheny.
…Yeah I’m still shaking from the event.My wife asked if I was okay,I said,"I aged 10 years in a split second,and if things would have turned out for the worse…I don’t know if I could have ever lived with myself…I’ll have bad dreams over this one for along time,I think…THANKS Tom,and Dirk for your thoughts.Herb p.s. kiki asked to go swimming in the pool today…go figure…a real water-person don’t you think?Herb
Herb, I’ve had some near death and worse experiences, myself and with childern They change you forever. All of a sudden you find yourself reassessing all your priorities as well waking up each morning saying thankyou! The dreams that come as a result are important. They are the only sane way you have of experiencing the worst without it happening. I think it’s how we humans put things in perspective. I work with kids all the time and they’re the most valuable thing there is. They can be so cavalier at times that without responsible adults around like you awful things happen. Glad you and your gals are safe and sound! Read some good stories, “Wind in the Willows” would be perfect, tonite around bed time and go on the adventures you know they love so much with them. Gone Surfin’ Rich
…Yeah I’m still shaking from the event.My wife asked if I was > okay,I said,"I aged 10 years in a split second,and if things would > have turned out for the worse…I don’t know if I could have ever > lived with myself…I’ll have bad dreams over this one for along > time,I think…THANKS Tom,and Dirk for your thoughts.Herb>>> p.s. kiki asked to go swimming in the pool today…go figure…a > real water-person don’t you think?Herb Wow, Herb I sooooo glad to hear your everyone is safe. Reminds of an incident with my 3 year old (she’s 19 now). I had just dock my sailboat and had offloaded and we’re standing on the dock next to the boat getting ready to leave when I noticed one of the dock lines was loose. I let go of my daughter’s hand to re-tie the line. While I’m bent over working on it she comes running up to see what I’m doing and falls of the dock. She has a life vest on but she doesn’t surface. I’m freaking because she must have come up UNDER the dock. I dive under the dock and start searching by feel (murky harbor water)and find her after about 10 seconds of looking. I bring her to the surface and she is surprisingly calm and just coughed up a little water. This was the longest 10 seconds of my life.I still have dreadful thoughts of that day. Sometimes to difference between life and death is a blink of an eye.
I had a nightmare that Dale was chasing me down trying to sell me a surfmat. You gotta watch out for those kids! They dont like to listen…I dont see why we cant put them on a leash till they are 18. I am glad I dont have a girl…u gotta chain them up when they hit 15 so they dont make ya a grand paw. http://www.harboursurfshop.com/surfboards.html
I had a nightmare that Dale was chasing me down trying to sell me a > surfmat. You gotta watch out for those kids! They dont like to listen…I > dont see why we cant put them on a leash till they are 18. I am glad I > dont have a girl…u gotta chain them up when they hit 15 so they dont > make ya a grand paw. – Selling surfmats in a nightmare?? That wasn
t me, man... I was somewheres else last night! Hey, howd you get the “Gallstone” tag?