S for Swimmer

When I was a kid, I used to go to the public swimming pool in our city. There we used to have two sections, Non-Swimmers and Swimmers. The Non-Swimmers Section was 5 ft deep max, small, crowded, lots of irritating kids grabbing you as they swim with their floats on. The Swimmers section on the other hand, started with 7 ft deep water and went to 21 feet deep, was huge, less crowded, with 3 levels of diving boards, a side jump board, it was the perfect heaven for a prankster kid like me.

But there was one little deewar ka wall between the Swimmers Section and Me. The S (- for Swimmer), with a round sun like circle around the S, stamp on my swimming pass was missing. I was the Amul Chocolate ad in terms of swimming. Ready to Swim but not fit to be in the Swimmers Section.

Well it so happens that to get the awesomest of the awesome stamp on pass, I would have to lap 10 laps of this huge, uncrowded section. Thats 10 50 meter laps, I dont know about you, but a kid in the 4th - 6th grade age, that was a lot for me. So there I was, sulking in the 5 ft deep Non-Swimmers Section. Oh in case you think why couldnt I just sneak in the other side, I tried that a couple of times, but there was a jerk of an instructor who knew I wasnt supposed to be there. That could be another post in itself.

Well, I figured a trick to all this, I let my membership end and didnt renew it for a month. And then I went back for a new membership. What that did towards me getting the awesomest of the awesome S stamp was that for a new membership you just needed to lap 2 laps around the huge pool and lo! you are a swimmer. So I did just that. And as a sweet payback, it was the khadoos instructor who had to approve that S on my new pass.

Well, if I had some persistance, today I wouldnt have been beaten to death when I tried to lap 22 laps around a similar 50 meter pool. It was like I could almost see that instructor laughing at me as I was on my own personal victory lap number 22, struggling to keep my head above water, and splashing water just like two hippos mating in the water. But I did it. I lapped not once but twice the entire course to get the S- for swimmers stamp on my pass. about 10- 15 years late, but I did it. In you face mr. khadoos rayban instructor. I am a swimmer today. Twice officiated.