LESSONS HELP

Have you ever taken piano lessons? You don't just sit down on that wooden bench and begin playing Mozart. The following is a true story in Dr. Crittenden's life. It is an excerpt from his memoirs.

LEARNING TO SWIM

I had four brothers. (Dr. Crittenden is the last brother living.) I was the middle child. My older brothers, E. J. and Milton, and my buddy Charles Emmett along with my neighborhood friends made our way down the old main road in town. It was a hot summer day and we were looking forward to a cooling dip at Wardlaw's. This was my first trip with my older brothers and I was to learn how to swim that day. Some of the guys said that there was no way Billy could learn to swim in one day, but my brother Milton said there was only one way to learn and that was to throw me in and I would either swim out or drown. I would have voted with the first group, but I wasn't given a vote.

Naturally, I couldn't act scared by pleading for mercy, not if I EVER wanted to go with them again, so I swallowed my gum and acted like my brother had come up with a good idea.

E. J. gave me the kindest advice; he told me to just relax, hold my breath, and my body would just float to the top of the water, after which I could "dog paddle" out. They surrounded me, impatient for me to get my clothes off. They threw me as far as they could from the bank, hollering and hooting like westerners at a hanging.

That's the last I heard, for I immediately went under.

Later on, I wondered why I never touched bottom, because it was less than five feet deep. As I went down, my mouth was wide open, and it immediately filled with water, strangling me. I came up fighting for something to hold on to, but there was nothing but more water. I forgot the good advice to hold my breath and keep still, and soon I came up for the third time. I flailed about, trying to touch another swimmer, but down I went again. I was about to give up when I felt strong hands grasping my arms and pulling me above the water. It was my brother E. J., who realized that I was drowning, and he dove in and saved my life.

(Dr. Crittenden's oldest brother, E. J., was killed only a couple of years later at the age of 16, He was hit by a car while delivering papers on his bicycle.)