Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

Carol’s Corner

August 1, 2007

The following story is one of my stories which has been revised and sold.

You Decide

Carol Roach

Water is the sustaining force, as important to us as the air we breathe. Two thirds of our body is made up of water. We require water for cell nutrition, cell absorption, digestion and excretion. Water is also responsible for the regulation of body temperature.

In many situations, humans have had to adapt to the lack of water in their
every day lives. A good example would be the desert Bedouins who use
camels for work and transportation since these animals require less water than most beasts of burden to survive.

But most of us rely heavily on water's many usages. Besides drinking
purposes, water is used for physical and spiritual applications. There are
many lakes and streams throughout the world where the waters are said to
have healing properties for healing purposes

Similarly, water is at the base of many religious rituals as well. The
northern Hindus of India frequent the Ganges River for their spiritual
ceremonies. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. The re-enactment of this event has become a holy ritual for many Christians around the world.

Besides drinking, cell absorption, physical and spiritual healing, how
could any discussion relating to water not mention that water is also essential for recreational purposes? Few among us can boast that they never swam in a lake or waded in a pool, or that they never cooled down in the backyard with a garden hose. Even an invigorating shower or a long, relaxing bath can be converted into a recreational activity.

I now ask: Are there situations where water can be detrimental to our health or well-being? We know that in the case of athletes, they must sip on water when performing their arduous feats in order not to dehydrate. Yet too much water can cause heart attacks.

I will now continue this piece with an example from my grandmother's life
where water had proven to be detrimental to her health and well-being.

My grandmother had been a very abused and neglected child. There were very few times in her life that she could say she found joy. But she did find joy in swimming. By the time she was eight years old, she was already a wonderful little swimmer. But since she lacked attention in her life and was somewhat a little devil, she used her swimming as a means to attract attention. Often, she would venture out in deeper waters than usual and pretend to be drowning. When somebody came to her rescue, she would stand straight up and laugh. If her feet didn't reach the bottom she would swim away with ease.

Soon no one paid attention to her antics anymore. Little Doris had cried wolf once too often, but it didn’t end there, she was to learn a very
valuable lesson.

One particular day my grandmother decided to go swimming directly after
lunch. She was warned time and again that she should wait at least an hour
before going into the water. But she never paid attention to these warnings.
She swam out to a deeper end of the lake than usual and, lo and behold, her stomach started to cramp. It was too late to do anything about it.  She had gone out too far to swim back safely. She started to panic, flailing her arms and legs about her. She dipped under the water twice, each time reappearing and gasping for air. She let out some faint cries for help but no one was listening. She went down the third time feeling her lungs fill up with water, creating a burning sensation. She started to feel light headed. My grandmother knew she was about to die.

The last thing she remembered before falling unconscious was a buzzing
sound in her ears that she referred to as the sound of angels flying around her. She was finally rescued two and a half minutes after she went down for the third time. The spectators realized she was not joking this time. She was in distress.

She lost her swimming privileges over the whole fiasco though she really
didn't care. She had been traumatized. She would never go swimming again.

It wasn't until her mid 30s that her husband was able to convince her to go
boating with him. Though she did not have to step in water she was still
uncomfortable. She would hear strange sounds very early in the morning just before sunrise if they went out fishing or after sunset if they were just out boating. Her husband never heard these sounds.

First the sounds were faint, then they because louder. First they were
infrequent then they became intrusive. She never could distinguish what
these sounds were. She became so agitated by them that her husband
suggested she see a doctor. He feared she was going crazy.

My grandmother never said much about the doctor visits however, she did say that with his help she came to determine what these sounds were and what they meant. According to her; these sounds were the moaning of the dead beckoning her to return to her watery grave where she belonged. The Doctor recommended that she never go back into the water again.

He said that it was not a good sign.

On August 31, 1980, my grandmother died of a massive heart attack in her
sleep. Her death came as a total shock to both the family and her doctor.
While she was treated for angina, her doctor assured her that she had many productive years ahead. So when she said she had a feeling she was dying we did not take her seriously. My grandmother always had a flare for the dramatic.

When she started telephoning people that she had not heard from in years
we did not see anything unusual about that either. My grandmother always
loved to talk on the phone.

When she complained to her doctor that she was always tired and didn't feel like doing housework, he told her to leave the housework because the house would be there long after she wasn't. My grandmother had faith in her doctor's judgment and we did too.

An autopsy was never preformed on her because she died of natural causes.   We did learn some startling information, though. When the mortician was preparing her body, he had to drain over 60 pounds of excess water trapped in her chest and heart cavities. He explained to us that the water had choked her heart and lungs and she had literally drowned.

I now ask you: Was the near-death by drowning experience she had at eight years old and the moaning of the dead people beckoning her to a watery grave in her 30’s just coincidence, or was it a forewarning of what was to come? Was it happenstance or was it fate?

I leave you to formulate your own conclusions.

I know that I have already formulated mine.

Carol Roach

winterose@videotron.ca

Check out her newest book,

Angels Watching Over Me. http://www.lulu.com/content/964306