the boat

I wish i could have this down in cronilogical order, but that is for someone else to do, if they wish.  I gave Alex permission to correct grammer since i have to type with my right eye closed.  I see a neoropthalmologist this week. I feel I am losing my vision
WHEN bILL AND i STARTRTED 7TH AND 8TH GRADE(darn caps key! dad said if we got good grades* he would give us our own row boat for the river; which he did and it not only opened up a new world, but made it easier to get to the other side of the river, instead of walking the 4 or more miles across the Tarentum bridge and down the cliffs.  I think we also had use of a small outboard motor for the boat to speed things up and we would go all the way to Brauburn beach by the dam where the water was fresh enough to swim in.  When we were younger, Uncle Lou would drive us down Brauburn Road and we would walk the tracks as he ran his hunting dog, "Voda," which means water in Slovak.  Stupid mutt would tear butt after a rabbit up the hillside, throught the sulfer sreams and come out smelling worse that a Beagle usually smells. Besides, now being orange and black.  And, of course Lou had his 22 pistol straped in his holster-snakes and snapping turtles. The only good thing a turle was useful was to make turtle soup because they ate tropthy fish eggs, like bass and musky's. We "disposed" of one snapper which was at least a 1' across. The top if their mouth was like a beak and they could bite your finger in two before knew it.  Sometimes we carried my dad's old 16 gauge shot gun for the same reason or just for target practice.  Lou didn't marry untill in his 30's so when we were yonger he kinda adopted us and bougth us things and took us places.  Once he married, we were s.o.l since his attention went to where it rightly belonged-his wife
Did you ever put your finger under a upside down glass and lower it in sink water? comes out dry becuse the cup/glass forms an air pocket.  well some of us got the bright idea that if we cut out the bottom of a 5 gal. metal can, cut out and glued on a swim face mask, we could lower it over our head and walk on the river bottom. a gargden hose, attached to a hand pump in the boat would maintain pressue, whie giving us "fresh" air to breath.  We were not stupid: just inventive and crazy as could be.  I never went under because I almost drowned when I was about 9 years old at crooked creek state park beach.  It had crystal clear water until someone walked into the water-which had a layer of brown silt on the bottom.  There was probaably499 people in the water at the same time-and another 1000 on the sandy beach..  One time, mom had on a full size white swimsuit-she walked into the water, turned around and walked out wih a brown swim suit. Bill and I would smim out to our necks and throw a foot long stick about ten feet further(over our head), grab it, and swim back to where we  coud touch the river botom with our toes. Safe-I did not know how to swim.  I threw out my stick, not realizing that as I padled out, the stick went futher out.  Grabbbed it and swam back to safety. Wrong.  Bill couldn't help me and my parents kinda "froze" on their beach blanket with tim, who was a baby at the time.  I was screaming for help and i went under the third and I was sure, the last time.  Out of nowher, a man grabbed me, tucked me under his arm and knew exactly where my parents blanket was at on the beach. I NEVER SAW HIS FACE AND HE JUST VANISHED IN THE THRONGS OF PEOPLE ON THE BEACH, NEVER SAYING A WORD.
I thought of this incident after joining the true church of Jesus Christ,  and I swear it must have been one of the Three Nephites-or at least my Guardian Angel.  To this very day, I am afraid to go in water over my head, unless I have the the security of some kind of personal floatation device.  A pool is not so bad because the depths are marked.  So don't laugh at me if we are swiming in a river or lake and egg me to go in over my head. I won't. *"A's" were next to impossible to get from one of the mean old nuns, most of who died when they reached the age of 100, but refused to fall down, so they just kept teaching and beating us when approapriate-which to them. was all the time, but i found all twelve of my mother 's report cards(She also went to St.Joseph and raising her sister and taking care of the house when her mother died when she was Ten. Her lowest grade was an "A" and I say lowest because most were "A+" Oh well, she could just out run them, right?
FYI: the "Bear" who was principal was actualy Sister Mary Dennis.  There goes that "Mary" thing again. She had to be 6'3" and weigh atleast 425 lbs-and a 150 lbs of that was just her chest-which her starched white bib convenietly covered. And a 100lbs for each bicep. She probably lifted weights and worked out by hitting a stuffed dummy swinging from a rope, with a steel pipe! Think I am aggerating?Just ask my brother Bill.  She could have won the Viet Nam War all by herself: when the Viet Cong saw her a coming, they would run like hell into China to hide. And surrender.