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Tuesday
June 12, 2007

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you don't see many pictures
like this these days--mainly
because rangefinders have been
replaced by through-the-lens captures.
 
anyway, i've been reveling in revelations
this summer (and it hasn't even begun!).
 
the first was one could enjoy swimming
in the sound by wearing a wetsuit. what fun!
the second was one could enjoy swimming
in the sound without a wetsuit. brisk, intense.
 
the secret--and it's no secret, really--is to keep
your head dry and above water. after a few
moments of piercing pain, your body gives up
on your brain and the water actually feels warm.
i stayed in for 20 minutes then shivered so hard i
could barely talk but if it'd been sunny i think i would
have been fine. the whole thing started when jed (>>)
and i saw a guy in swimtrunks enter the water then swim
way way out, past the point where i would have jumped
in for a rescue had he gone under--which we expected him
to do any second due to hypothermia. after he came out i
asked where he was from and how long he'd been doing
that. ukraine; not long, he said. now that i had seen it could be
done i accompanied piotr (his name) on his next swim. about 5
minutes into it my testicles felt like ice cubes, at which point
i'd normally get out. but after only a minute or so of agony and
apprehension of permanent damage, the water felt warm & i was
snug in the palm of the ocean. the only thing, piotr cautioned,
is be careful of the currents. one time i was almost carried out...