Rhianna goes Swimming

Everyone here has fallen into the river at one time or another, some more than others and a few demented souls even purposly go swimming in it.Its not my first choice of a swimming location mostly because of the raw sewage in it. The other day tho, I didnt have a choice.

Our satellite line had been torn in half by some very high/low tide combinations, so BellExpressVU had sent someone over to fix it for us.They hate us! We have to leave enough slack in the lines to accomadate the tides but when they are slack , they drag in the water and get damaged by debris and crushed between moving houses and boats.The result is we are calling them every other week to come and fix it again.This time the line had torn in half and both ends were in the water between the barge and shore.

The technicion asked if we had a small boat he could use to reach them.I went and got out my kayak, showed him how to get in it and paddle and how to get back out. I suited him up with a lifejacket and sent him on his way.Well he took about 2 strokes with the paddle and realized everytime he did that, the kayak leaned dangerously close to the water. He froze in panic and refused to paddle anymore. Meanwhile the current now had a hold of him and was pulling him backward downstream at an ever increasing rate. I tried appealing to his male vanity, telling him, be brave, you can do it, nice and slow, just come back to the dock.He wouldnt budge a muscle.

I ran out onto the cement breakwall and grabbed a rope from a boat and threw it at him about 20 times before he made any attempt to grab it.I started to pull him in when he dropped the paddle in the water."Dont worry" , he says, "Ill buy you a new one, just get me out of here". Again,I tried to convince him to let out the line and retrieve the paddle,"Please dont make me go swimming , I begged him". Finally he started to, then panicked and somehow dropped the line. Now he was in a real state and seriously regreting coming out on this particular call.

I could see I had no other choice. I kicked off my shoes and jumped off the back of a boat into the swirling current. He looked at me horrified, "your not going to go in wearing your dress are you?" What did he think, I would jump in naked, or go to change into a bathing suit while he went flying backwards downstream?? Did I mention he was a middle aged man from Mainland China.Who knows what he thought?

I went after the paddle as it was rapidly vanishing down the river, fought my way back to the kayak,grabbed the front of it and swam to the dock with it in tow. Heaving myself out onto to the dock took every last ounce of energy I had.By this time I was going to be late for work, so clad in my sopping wet dress , I led him into the boat, showed him my reciever and told him to make sure he got it working.

I have a feeling he might quit his job, at the least Im sure he is a changed man.Im happy to know, I can still swim and glad it all turned out for the best.Well mostly, the satelitte worked for about 12 hours and is down again. They are sending someone out on Friday..........to our little marina of horrors lol. I pity the fool.

I wish someone would have been there with a camera, best I can do is post a pic of me in the kayak, not panicking