DD #99 - Open Swim

During my childhood summers, Monday nights meant open swim. Being a poor swimmer and having anxiety issues with water, this might be something I would avoid.  Yet, week after week, I gravitated towards going to the Tosa West pool to "swim" with my cousins, uncle, and the neighborhood scamps. Every week followed the same routine. I stayed on the shallow end or near the edge in the deeper end and rarely did I venture into the diving area. We tended to team up and try to defeat Uncle Johnny and despite our best efforts, he would always claim victory and pronounce that his undefeated streak was alive and well. We would look to impress any girls that were around with our wit and wisdom while beginning to show off our testosterone in one-upping each other for the attention of the opposite sex. We usually ended up leaving without impressing any females, getting into squabbles with other hordes of competing males, and vowing to come back better than ever the next week. I didn't enjoy the swimming and usually had to psych myself up to even get into the pool, but peer pressure and the joy of friends has unbelievable power.