Polar bear swim

Last night I got a call from Adrian, one of my childhood buddies.  He wanted to renew one of our high school New Year’s traditions, a polar bear swim. 

Nothing makes me feel alive like stripping naked and jumping into some icy water.  The mud in my toes, the wind on my back, the repressed fear, the shrieks of pain and delight, the adrenalin, the sprint back to my clothes.  It’s a great way to welcome a new year, even if we were a day late.   

I met Adrian at a grocery store near the river.  We drove together to the river and I asked him questions to see if he was really up for the ordeal.  I was secretly hoping he would change his mind so I could get off and blame it on him.  His resolve was steely, but he was asking me similar questions. 

The ice was too thick at our first choice of swimming holes.  I tried to break it by throwing a fifty pound rock on it.  I hardly made a dent.  We found open water a few yards downstream.

We sat in the car with the heater on full blast for a really long time.  The tone had changed from trying to give each other an opportunity to bow out gracefully, to convincing each other that we could do it, and that it isn’t really a stupid idea.  I’m still not too convinced about that latter point. 

There is a point in any dare when further deliberation will inevitably lead to passing on the dare.  When we got to that point, we didn’t pass.  We got out of the car and donned our birthday suits.  I made the obligatory jokes about it being a full moon and we marched down to the river. 

Adrian’s approach was different than mine.  I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, so after taking a deep breath and collecting myself, I stepped in up to my ankles. 

I shrieked like a little girl. 

Meanwhile, Adrian had taken the first step too, and between my shrieks I heard him say “Hey, I found a bucket.”  Apparently he wanted to take it home as a souvenir. 

I didn’t waste any more time.  I leaned forward and took the plunge.  There was more shrieking; Adrian was joining in.  I splashed around for an eternity (read: two seconds) and bolted for my towel.  I grabbed my clothes and sprinted back to the car. 

I realized I was still naked when I heard Adrian laughing and running after me.  I heard myself laughing too.  Ahhh…Happy New Year indeed.