1. 1. Courage: Marcellus “Dat Dude” Wiley, pro football player, was so affected by children drowning that he was willing to go on national television and say he was overcome with emotion after facing his own fear of water and doing an ocean swim. …

Some of you have been reading my blogs over the last year or so. Maybe you’ve seen my activity on Twitter or connected with me on Facebook. First of all, I’d like to say Thank You! and I genuinely look forward to connecting with more people who share my passion. I’d like to learn more about you - people’s stories fascinate me. By now I’m guessing that more than a few of you are wondering “Why…

Halloween can be a magical time for young children. The chance to be a princess, a superhero, or their favorite animal. I emphasize ‘to be’. Toddlers aren’t very good at differentiating between reality and ‘pretend’. I live in a wonderful small town, best described as ‘a great place to grow up’. This is the first year I took my kids to the infamous ‘scary’ street, where the whole street goes…

The new CPR guidelines are out with all sorts of fanfare and media coverage. Great news and lots of new research and discussion over a critical tool that could save some of the 250,000 people who die of heart disease each year. But why not the same media focus on preventing the deaths in the first place? How about this little-seen article with the staggering headline: Analyses: Heart Attack…

A friend and colleague in Hawaii, who is also Flotilla Commander for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, sent me some great information about a mentoring/education program between the Coast Guard and the Cub Scouts. Cub Scouts from across the island converge for a day of water safety and water fun. The kids learn about water safety and how to send distress signals using a CD. They learn about…

Times are tough for almost everyone today, but that doesn’t have to mean you can’t keep your kids out of danger. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act established a Grant Program to assist states in implementing new laws and regulations for pool and spa safety. Check out this site and see if you are eligible for funds to make your neighborhood pools safer.…

I have a theory.

Fear paralyzes, Hope mobilizes.…

“We don’t have a pool” “We’re so busy with soccer/football/gymnastics” “It’s such a pain with the wet suits and wet hair” “It’s too expensive to join a pool or take lessons” “We’re just not a swimming family”…

I really enjoy talking with teenagers. Perhaps it’s because I did such a lousy job of being a teenager myself, but I really enjoy being with them. I hear them talk, I listen to how they think, I watch what they do, and how and why they make decisions - or how they don’t think at all when they make decisions - and it amazes me how any of us make it through that time. Tossed into a churning…

I was getting in my swim while my daughter had her lesson on Sunday and was watching the parent-tot class in the kid pool. Average age probably 18-24 months, and you saw the whole gamut of personalities in that group of 10 kids. One petite little girl was leaping into the water without inhibition or fear. One little boy was far more interested in deconstructing the safety cone blocking off the…