Paula Cole has a song, "Me" containing a line that goes something like this,

"I am not the person who is singing...I am the silent one inside."

You all should know:

• I am the one who was rescued from the bottom of a county club pool at the age of 9 when the local bully pulled a kickboard away from me.
• I am the one who cried at 11 when my swim coach made me swim the 200 freestyle.  I was certain I would have to climb out early.
• I am the one whose non-athlete parents questioned me about my choice to train for triathlons in 1984.
• I am the one who swam at Rice University for two years...I was beaten by EVERYONE in the conference, and my first competitive 500 took over 6:00.
• I am the one who still has fear flashes about heading into the ocean...especially oceans that I know contain schools of jellies that will test my resolve and physiology.
• I am the one who jumped into the Melbourne Marathon with a Rotary host father in 1982 and proceeded to finish in over 5 hours.  Those five hours became my life changing, epiphany moment.

Do you remember what it was like the moment you realized you don't know what you don't know?

I do, and somewhere during that discovery process I decided that I did not care too much about how I looked to others as I worked to fill that knowledge and skill base.

I am doing things at 44 that I never would have even imagined at 15, 25 or even 35.  Now I am in love with the fact that there are years ahead of me to discover and do even more.

We need passionate people around us...

I am not the leader in that initiative.
I am the one who was inspired.

My nephew and I...the next swimmer to come from below the Mason-Dixon line?


We can all be "Next," and I think that is what our family, friends and community need.