I was out taking a walk this evening but it was
uncomfortable because it is so cold. The
During the walk I noticed that a group of
approximately 15-20 young people were gathered in an open field at a school
near my house and it appeared to me that one young man was walking away from a
large pond of standing water only wearing swimming shorts (we’ve recently had
flooding in the area). I assumed I wasn’t
seeing correctly, but I thought, “I’m going to walk in that direction.”
As I got near the group I could see that, yes, in
fact, the young man was dressed only in swimming shorts. He was shivering and he was wet.
I didn’t know the young fellow but my curiosity won
out. “Were you in that pond over there,”
I asked?
Some of the young folks laughed and, with a big
smile, he said, “Yep!”
I said, “What’s going on? Was this for a bet?”
He proudly replied, “Yes. I just won 20 dollars!”
“Twenty bucks?!?” I laughed.
And there was more laughing from his group of
friends.
I said, “What’s your name?”
He said, “Johnny.”
I took out my phone and asked, “Can I take your
picture? No one will believe me if I don’t
have evidence.”
He was beginning to get some clothes on and he said,
“Sure.”
So, the young man you see in the photos is Johnny right
after he did a Kenton Avenue version of the Polar Bear Club.
Just before I continued on my way, however, an
insane thought crossed my mind: If I
were to take off my shoes and socks; empty my pockets; and give Johnny another
$20 to go splashing around in the pond with me, the young folks standing around
in this group would have a crazy story that they would tell for the rest of
their lives.
This would be the gist of the story: The day the old guy with white hair—that no one
knew—went splashing around in the pond with their friend Johnny when it was 38
degrees outside.
Fortunately, the thought only lingered for a few
seconds. Then I bundled up my coat a
little tighter waved to the young folks and continued on my way.
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