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Opening Day, with fire and water

May 31, 2011 by Steve Mentz Leave a Comment

I swam a fast 75 yards fly yesterday to warm up in the cold water, then turned over on my back to float and look back at the shore.  It was good to be back in the salt water.  Short Beach was in full summer madness, overflowing with people and colors and noises.  There was no wind when I’d plunged in, and the salt tang I’ve been missing all winter blended with the smell of a carcass of a 32″ sea bass, caught that morning off the point and already fileted for Memorial Day dinner.  The red body caught me eye as I walked down onto the beach to set up the kids on surfboards & inflatable rafts.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a sea bass that big.

Once out on the water, it was like I’d never left.  Salty, silent, isolated from sand and people, with a slow roll once I got past the sheltered cove.  The water was cold — 60 degrees 1 meter down, according to a UConn buoy, somebody said — but I wore my shorty wetsuit & felt fine.

How different is it from the pool, where I’ve been spending my early mornings since January?  That’s the question I’ll be mulling for the next few weeks.

Swam out to Half-Tide Rock & then timed myself on the way in.  6:18.  Probably a bit under 500 yds.  Could have gone faster with goggles, b/c I’d have been able to see better.

The real excitement yesterday was on land, at the fire up the street.  We watched all four of Branford’s trucks barrel down past the beach, responding to a house that had caught fire due to a cigarette left burning while someone ran to the store.  Pretty exciting, & also dangerous in our neighborhood of small yards and close-together houses.  Quite a scene, with the fire engines butting up against the surfboards and fishing poles.

Summer is here!

Filed Under: Blue Humanities, Swimming

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About Steve

Steve Mentz
Professor of English
St. John’s University
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Shakespearean. Ecocritic. Swimmer. New book Ocean #objectsobjects Professor at St. John's in NYC. #bluehumanities #pluralizetheanthropocene

stevermentz
stevermentz Steve Mentz @stevermentz ·
20 Jan

Send us your book proposals!

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stevermentz Steve Mentz @stevermentz ·
31 Dec

Much to remember in '22, including a fantastic fall in Germany at the @CarsonCenter. But especially one day in late October, while isolating with Covid in a rural farmhouse in Bavaria, when I saw my first all-creative publication, these little poems --

http://www.ghostbirdpress.org/2022/10/swim-poems-by-steve-mentz.html

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