Healing Waters

I walked to the health club at 5:45 in the predawn light. When I arrived the parking lot was lit up and full. Venus and the crescent moon were next to each other in the sky. I told the lady at the front desk to come out and see it. She loved it.

I swam in the pool while watching the sky turn violet.

Over the summer I've met lots of folks in the pool. I met a man who broke both of his legs in January who walks in the water to regain his muscles. I met a woman who had polio as a child who walks in the water to remain flexible. Yesterday I met a man who told me he's had both shoulders replaced in the past six months. This morning I met a man who had a stroke three years ago. He told me he bicycles on a three wheeled recumbent bicycle on the bike path and he swims. "You have to take care of the body" he said. When he left he said "As my Irish grandmother would say, 'Have a soft day!'"

Everyone I meet is fighting a great battle but the water is a kind and gentle healer.