It seems this summer that an unusually high number of drownings have been occuring here in the Houston Gulf coast area. In several of the cases multiple people have died - would-be rescuers find themselves unable to extricate themselves leading to an even worse tragedy. The father who died trying to save his little girl - the teen who died trying to save his friend.

  Yesterday I saw with crystal clarity how it could happen, because it almost happened to me. My two boys, 8 and 9, went with me to see their eldest sister at Texas State University in San Marcos. We had planned to go tubing down the San Marcos river, but the lousy service at the River Pub (DON'T EAT THERE - EAT AT GRIN'S OR HERBERT'S TACO HUT) meant we had limited time. So Gypsyboots decided to sunbathe on the banks of the river in Sewall Park, and the boys and I went into the river for a swim. 

To quote from the Texas State University website: 

On a hot summer day in 1916, Dr. S.M. “Froggy” Sewell, a mathematics professor, went wading into the brush- and weed-choked San Marcos River. No place was deeper than three feet, and he decided that the university needed a park.

In 1917, the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries leased the college four acres of land along the river. College workers, armed with mud scrapers and mules, cleaned the river bottom, built up the banks and smoothed the slopes. It was called Riverside Park until 1946 when it was renamed in honor of Sewell.

In 1984, a $1 million renovation gave the park its current look. Sewell is now a favorite student hangout on campus. The six-acre park features grassy banks for soaking up sun or playing Frisbee with friends. Stairs provide easy access for swimming or snorkeling in the San Marcos River. The park also features a basketball court, volleyball courts and picnic and barbecue areas — all along the riverbank.

  - The water, spring fed from Aquarena Springs and the start of the Edwards Aquifer, the water is always bracingly cold. True to its start, it is only about 3 feet deep in the area pictured above. I assumed the recent drought meant that the current would not be very strong, and I relied on my own collegiate memories of the river to decide how to proceed. 

   Both were mistakes in judgment. 

My boys can swim, but are not what I would call strong swimmers. We went around the bend, and there was a sudden drop-off. Because of the configuration of the river, the current became far more intense. Both boys were swept away from me, and both started shouting for help. I tried to get my youngest, but he was so heavy we both went under. Thank God for the college men on the bank. At the point in the river, the concrete embankment is a good 6 feet above the top of the water. One (or maybe two) of them got in the water, got my boys, and worked together to pull them up and on the bank. Unencumbered, I went to the metal ladder and pulled myself up. By the time I was there, they were gone. It took a moment for what could have happened to make itself clear to me. 

I managed not to break down in hysterical tears, but hugged the boys to me and told them swimming was over for the day. I was amazed at how quickly it had all happened, and my inability to rescue them by myself. 

I have what appears to be a common maternal belief - that if the children are with me, they are somehow magically protected. It is only when they are away from me that they are in danger. This brought home the fact that there is no invincible maternal ability, and that my precious, precious boys are as subject to the dangers of this world in my presence as they are without. 

They are relatively unscathed. They went back to their sister's apartment and played video games. I on the other hand am offering fervent prayers of thanksgiving to those college students. So often all we hear are the negatives - those young men did the right thing without hesitation, and are my personal heroes. 

  Here are the boys earlier this summer. You can bet I have been hugging them a little bit tighter today.