FK – What, you’ve never skylarked with or succored the lads?

To be ‘fair’ if that’s possible in this, sheeple and people at that time saw things differently. Kids were ‘taught to swim’ by simply throwing them in the water and if they successfully dog paddled to shore they were considered to be swimmers, and could maintain this falsehood their entire lives unless they ran upon a situation where it was necessary to float, at which point they likely drowned.

The dynamite doesn’t surprise me either. They weren’t as squeamish in those days. Some of them may have been veterans and had thus seen far worse things than a mangled drowned body.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t put anything past them since they consider us to be livestock.

And to be clear on a point: If you don’t learn how to relax and float you can’t swim and will begin to sink once you lose the energy to tread water or fight your way across the surface, which is what non-swimmers are doing.

Again, if you can’t float, you can’t swim. If you’re in water over your head and run out of energy to tread water or fight your way across the surface, which is what non-swimmers do, then you will sink and die.

What to teach your kids

All of which has put me on a tangent: Can you float like a pancake?

FK – Most kids of that age are naturally not afraid of the water. But if they can’t float they can’t swim and can die!

There’s no excuse for not drown proofing kids:

FK – Babies are natural floaters. I’m not convinced that some of them won’t have to relearn the skill as they get older unless they grow up around the water.

What am I saying? This planet is 70 percent water. Kentucky has more miles of running water than any state except Alaska. Swimming is one of the most basic survival skills.

And for the grownups who may be old enough to be afraid of the water:

FK – There’s no excuse for anyone of any age not knowing how to swim.

And more on floating:

FK – I was taught to float and get used to having my face in the water by holding onto the edge of the pool in shallow water and turning my head and breathing as if doing the freestyle stroke. It can take time for some.

Learning to overcome the impulse to panic is the key, as with all things. Panic in the water and  you die. For those who are a little more daring: