(In Arlington, skies are clear and bottomless blue. Temperature is 85 and rising, they say, to near triple digits. Water temperature, according to Prague-based Life Guard Pavlich, was 82 at time of immersion. Just about perfect).

We do not claim it was a “Good” dip. It was more properly a decent wade, since we are still attempting to be compliant with physician directives about non-complete immersion. It was a “great dip” in several other categories. It was a successful demonstration of the ability to manhandle the walking contraption out of the ground floor unit, down the three concrete steps to the sidewalk, over the curb to the black parking lot surface while avoiding the parking bumpers in front of the cars. Then the asphalt around the west wing of the building, up to the sidewalk, down the fence-line to the pool entrance, producing the pool-pass, introducing myself to the weekend life-guard from Prague, Czech Republic, which he proudly announced, just in case we had forgotten what nation in which that proud Habsburg town is currently located. It changes over there.

Then, the slow process of removing t-shirt and shoes stowing the collapsible Hurry-Cane and hobbling to the pool-ladder at the shallow-end for partial (compliant) immersion.

Two small children were suitably attired in buoyant floatation devices and swimming better than I can at the moment. My upper body tensed with desire to just plunge forward, swim vigorously to the floating boundary between the shallow (4 ft) and deep ends (8.5 ft), plunge deep under it, and surface, checking the time on the wall clock by the lifeguard station to mark the start of a vigorous hour of aqua-based summersaults, breast strokes while listening to raucous music on the water-proof headset.

None of that happened, of course, since full immersion is delayed on medical instruction until 03 July. But just navigating safely from unit to pool, from poolside to partial immersion, was freaking magnificent.

Having demonstrated the capability to execute the program safely, they may let me do it unsupervised for the remainder of the summer!
The season’s Solstice now passed, it is time to rock and roll!

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