The Rescue
was born in a small North Carolina town in the early 40's. The area lent
itself to all the explorations a young boy could think of and do. Its rivers and canals,
the oak and pine trees were full of wonder and adventure which ate up any free time
we had. Seldom was there a moment when we found ourselves with little to do. Our
family income was just over the poverty level, as was that of much of the towns
folks. This social standing had little effect on us because we were unaware of what
poverty could and did do to families. As children we did not worry about financial
shortcomings we suffered, our parents did that for us. We busied ourselves at the
YMCA and in retrospect the YMCA saved us. Not only did it provide us with the
equipment to play football, basketball and other games, it gave us the stability in
our childhood we needed. It provided us with a place to keep out of trouble, gave us
books to read to expand our minds and it helped shape us into the men we were to
become. The many workers and helpers who spent so much time and effort on us
can be proud to know that their influence helped me to become the successful man
which I am today. The YMCA was located about a mile from Flynn Street where
we all lived and our parents knew where they could find us at almost any given
moment. I had two older brothers, but because of the age difference I did not hang
out with them.
My friends and I belonged to a "gang" (of which I was the leader) although we did not call it a gang back then. The gang I refer to is likened to the "Our Gang" with Spanky and Alfalfa and not the menacing gangs of today. There was LeRoy, Larry, Larry's two brothers Dennis and Dukey, and Paul whom we called Brer Rabbit. Why we called Paul Brer Rabbit escapes me. It is a name that has followed him all these forty-plus years. Maybe the name stemmed from his features which included snow white hair and brilliant white teeth, not that they were exceedingly large, just very very white. We hung around together every moment we could which was made easier by the fact that we all lived on Flynn Street. "The Big Hill", as Flynn Street was affectionately called was a wonderful place to live. We all shared the same life style, same problems, same happiness and because we were so much alike it solidified our friendships.
One of our many summertime activities was swimming. There were many canals in the area which were used by the mills to dump their waste chemicals into. These canals in turn ran into the Dan River on the North Carolina/Virginia state line. Not knowing the hazards of the chemicals, we swam in them because they were a few miles from "The Big Hill" and we knew the area so well we could literally have found our way blindfolded. My older brother Richard would sometimes come with us to "protect" us, but mainly he came along to harass us. On Sundays we could count on the city workers to have the flood gates to the canal open. The water would come down in currents exceeding 20 mph with water levels rising up to ten feet. We accepted the challenge to swim across the canal without having to be pulled out or rescued displaying our bravery and showing how gutsy we really were. Of all our gang, Dukey was the only one who had not attempted the crossing and this Sunday was his day.
We left our homes and headed for the canal. As we strolled along the dirt road we laughed and joked about any and everything except the eminent event. No one wanted to jinx Dukey by talking about how he was going to execute his plans nor was Dukey eager to reveal anything. We each had successfully crossed the boundary which separated us from mere "Kids" to "Boys" and knew all too well what Dukey was feeling. Dukey was preoccupied with all the many things he had to do in order to successfully accomplish the one thing the rest of his playmates had already done.
After walking on the dirt road for some distance we came upon the black top. Today a paved road is nothing to get excited over but to us well, that was something else! We relished the feeling of that smooth road. What a wonder! It was a place we could turn cartwheels on and not suck in the dust our heels kicked up. We sprinted on the black top for about a mile, all the while laughing and whooping it up and then turned off again onto the dirt road which bordered the canal. We surveyed the flood gates which were indeed open and knew instantly that Dukey would get a chance to prove himself today. As we came closer to the swimming area, we noticed that there were five or six boys already in the water swimming and having as good a time as we intended on having. On this particular Sunday Richard decided to tag along which was fortunate for us since the other boys were much older and bigger and although we did not want to admit it, it was comforting to know Richard could protect us.
We hung around the flood gate waiting for these older boys to leave. Before they left they teased us for not going into the water. They taunted us by asking us if we were "fraidy cats", "yellow", and "did we want our mommies". The real reason we did not enter the water immediately was because everyone skinny dipped. Besides being older, the other boys were physically more advanced than we were and their equipment had developed to a stage which ours has yet to reach. At long last they left! We had posted Brer Rabbit downstream as a lookout so when the other boys passed his post, he let us know all was clear at which point we undressed. Standing there in the buff and fully exposed we offered Dukey words of encouragement and last minute instructions on what we had done to successfully make it across the thirty or so feet of treacherous water. Now that everyone had said his peace we all moved into our designated positions. LeRoy and Dennis walked around the opposite side of the canal and Larry went to the lower side while Richard climbed an oak tree and stood on a limb that over hung the canal. Each of us had made this dive and because not all of us had made it on the first attempt we tried to anticipate Dukey's outcome and posted lookouts as a measure of safety control.
I remained behind giving Dukey further instructions. When I finished, I gave the all clear so he could proceed. Dukey was prepared to make his move. Everyone was in his designated place and holding their breath, the initial fear that had shown on Dukey's face was replaced with determination. I took a last look at the dark brown almost opaque water and something about the current did not look right, but I dismissed my concerns because no one else had voiced theirs so I returned to Dukey's side for last minute instructions. Everything was set. Dukey backed up and made his run! He sprang as high as he could using the embankment as a spring board at the same time he dove as far as he could. In a moment of terror we instantly knew his dive was short and would not carry him to a safe spot over the most treacherous part of the canal. With horror we watched as the short dive took him into the swift current. Plunk! He sank like a rock and seconds later Dukey came up from the dive gasping for air his face full of fear! All at once everyone was yelling and screaming. Chaos broke out. Screams of "you can make it" and "swim faster" could be heard from every direction. He flailed his arms in an attempt to swim but the current was stronger than he and it pulled him under. I have no idea what was different about the current that day, but instead of being washed to the outer edge of the canal as anticipated, Dukey sank like a stone in the very spot he had just come up at. He was under for what seemed an eternity. While he was under, we were screaming across the banks at each other. All our voices in their high pitched soprano's could be heard only by our own helpless ears. Dukey would be washed down stream to the side bank at the very spot his brother Larry was posted. The burning question in our minds was, would he be alive? All of a sudden Dukey broke the surface of the water at the precise spot where he had gone under! He was shouting for help all the while knowing he was drowning. We were all stunned because nothing was going as planned and our feeble attempt at predicting his washing up onto the side bank was wrong. We were all just standing their looking at each other for some sort of action from anyone. Who was going to help, who was going to jump in or what was anyone going to do? I yelled at my brother to dive in, but I noticed he had a blank expression on his face. He was frozen in his perch and literally useless, he may as well have been glued to that spot! Nothing was going to pry his fingers from the tree limb and he certainly was not going to dive in to rescue poor Dukey so his being the best swimmer of the bunch of us was not going to do anyone much good. Leroy and Dennis were also in a panic. Their movements resembled two ducks in a shooting gallery back and forth, ducking and swaying. How funny it seems now, but at the time it made me angry. Angry only because I could not think of a thing to yell at them that would help them help Dukey. Suddenly I snapped out of my helpless state of mind. I was the leader of this gang and it was up to me to help my friend. I had been terrified at first at the goings on, but I fought back the fear while the adrenaline kicked in to give me the strength to leap into the water to the spot where Dukey had last been seen. When I landed, it was almost atop Dukey. I grabbed him, and remembering some of my YMCA life saving training skills I turned him around so that his back was facing my chest and I placed my hand under his chin in an attempt to control him. His panic made him much stronger than I anticipated and he quickly left my grip. His strength caused me to lapse into the water he was now almost standing on my head trying to keep his head above water. He was surely going to drown us both! While I was underwater, a calm came over me. I knew that I must remain underwater as long as I could tolerate it and move us both to the other side of the canal. I gathered all my strength and guided us to the bank. All the while I kept hoping Dukey's head was above the water and that he was in no further danger. When I came up for air, I found we were only a few feet from the bank. LeRoy and Dennis were reaching out to give us a hand, for which I was grateful as my strength was all but spent. When they pulled us on the embankment I felt drained and my body was aching. I felt a stinging sensation all over. I looked at myself and saw red welts and marks all over. These were scratches Dukey had inflicted on me, but as much as I was reeling in pain, we both started laughing just thankful to be alive. Everyone came rushing up to us while we lay there on the dirt. Everyone was relieved and blurted out their thoughts and feelings while stating what they were going to do if I had not jumped into the water.
We learned a lot about each other that Sunday afternoon. I didn't feel like a hero, I was just pleased with myself that as leader of the gang I had shown why I was the leader. From that day forward, my little gang placed me a cut above the rest of the kids in the neighborhood, in their eyes I was fearless. The flip side of being special is that so much is expected of you and these guys placed me in some precarious situations throughout our childhood, but of course that's another chapter in the saga of my childhood adventures...
