Chapter 11 Body Control - from my book Changes

Path to the swim area in early autumn..

Chapter 11

Body Control

One of the things we learned about at the Standard class was body control.  Tom told the story about how Grandfather had taken his and Rick’s clothes away from them, giving them only shorts and shoes to wear, and sent them home in the snow storm to help them learn body control; and how at first they thought they would freeze to death, but by the time they got home they were laughing and playing, having a snowball fight.

I thought about body control through the days that followed and decided to give body control a try by swimming in the swim area on the last night of class to see if I could feel warm in the cold water.

It was Friday night, dinner was over, and it was not yet time for the “pot crew” (the crew I was on) to get started cleaning up the huge cooking pots used for making the meals for so many people.

I ran to my tent, put on my bathing suit and a cover up, and hurried to the swim area.  There were a few of the guys there contemplating whether to go in the water or not.  I think they had the same idea I had — to test their body control.

I took off my cover up and went down the wooden ladder into the waist deep water.  I was intensely imagining I was warm.  I lowered myself into the water and started slowly swimming against the lazy current.  I was surprised I could be doing this in the cold spring water in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in October, but I was doing it, and I can honestly say I felt comfortable.  I stayed in the water for what seemed like 20 minutes. The guys got in, and quickly back out, with loud exclamations about how cold the water was.

There were no females there with us so maybe it is easier for women to stay warmer than men, having an extra layer of fat, as I have been told.

Then the call came out for chores to be done and I heard “Pot Crew!”

I climbed out, pulled my calf length, sleeveless cover up on, over my wet suit and ran up to the pot scrubbing area.

My job in the crew that night was to run the clean pots from the washing station to the kitchen to be put away by someone there.

Once my chore was done I went and stood by the big bed of coals which was still glowing red after having been our primitive cooking fire that evening.  I stood there being warmed by the scintillating glow and heat.  I imagined I was looking down at a huge city with glowing lights throughout.

While I stood there, Tom came and stood near me, watching the coals too.  He was about arms distance from me.  I knew he was giving me an opportunity to talk to him, but I was too intimidated by then to say anything to him. We just stood there for a long time, saying nothing.  My thoughts were quiet and I opened up my senses and just experienced standing there, trying to get a sense about Tom while looking at the huge, glowing, bed of coals.

After about 10 minutes he walked away and I went back to the lecture hall, bundled back up in my warm clothes and sweaters, and got ready with my notebooks, like everyone else, for the evening lecture.