Deep Water Summary

 
The story has been taken from the author’s autobiography- ‘Of Men and
Mountains’.
In this piece he tells about his fear of water and how he conquered it by
determination and will power.
 
As a child, when he was 3 or 4 years old, he would go to the beach in
California with his father. He would get scared by the might of the huge
waves which swept over him and it instilled a fear in his sub – conscious
mind.
 
A few years later, in his eagerness to learn swimming, he joined a
swimming pool where an incident further increased his terror. He was
pushed into the pool by another boy and experienced death closely.
 
Many years after that incident, he stayed away from water but the desire to
go fishing and swimming in nature was strong enough to motivate him to
overcome his fear.
 
He learned swimming with the help of an instructor who ensured that
William knew swimming well enough to be able to swim in huge lakes and
waterfalls also.
Still, when he would swim, the fear from his childhood experiences,
embedded in his sub-conscious mind would grip him over and over again.
He wanted to conquer that fear.
 
He faced it sarcastically, thinking that now, as he knew how to swim, what
harm could it do to him. He challenged his fear in the face of it and finally it
would vanish.
It was a baseless fear instilled in his sub-conscious mind. This experience
was valuable for him. He had experienced terror and death. He overcame it
and finally conquered it.
William realized that death is peaceful and it is the fear of death that is
terrorizing. His will to live life grew intensely as he had overcome his fear
and started living fearlessly.
 
Deep Water Explanation
It had happened when I was ten or eleven years old. I had decided to learn to
swim. There was a pool at the Y.M.C.A. in Yakima that offered exactly the
opportunity. The Yakima River was treacherous.
 
Y.M.C.A. – Young Men’s Christian Association
Yakima – a place in Washington, USA
Treacherous – dangerous
 
The writer narrates his experience. He was ten or eleven years old when
he had joined the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool to learn swimming. He did not
go to the Yakima river to swim as it was considered dangerous. This shows
that he had a prior fear of water.
 
Mother continually warned against it, and kept fresh in my mind the details
of each drowning in the river. But the Y.M.C.A. pool was safe. It was only
two or three feet deep at the shallow end; and while it was nine feet deep at
the other, the drop was gradual. I got a pair of water wings and went to the
pool. I hated to walk naked into it and show my skinny legs. But I subdued
my pride and did it.
 
Drop – slope from the shallow area to the deep area
Water wings - A pair of inflatable waterproof bags designed so that one can
be attached to each arm, especially of a child learning to swim
Skinny – thin
Subdued – to overcome
Pride – self-respect
 
William’s mother would warn him not to go near the Yakima river and
would discuss the various incidents of drowning. He felt that the pool at
Y.M.C.A. was safer. The shallow area of the pool was only two to three feet
deep while the deep area was nine feet in depth. The slope from the
shallow area to the deep area was not steep. He also got a pair of water
wings to prevent drowning. He did not like to wear the swimming costume
which exposed his thin legs but as he was keen to swim, he gave up his
self-respect and wore it.
 
From the beginning, however, I had an aversion to the water when I was in
it. This started when I was three or four years old and father took me to the
beach in California.
He and I stood together in the surf. I hung on to him, yet the waves
knocked me down and swept over me. I was buried in water. My breath
was gone. I was frightened.
Father laughed, but there was terror in my heart at the overpowering force
of the waves.
 
Aversion – dislike
Surf – wave of the sea
Knocked me down – threw him down
 
William says that he had always disliked water and recounts an older
experience when he was three or four years old. He went to the beach in
California with his father. They stood as a wave leapt towards them.
William stuck to his father to save himself, but the strong wave threw him
down and he was covered in water. He was scared as he could not
breathe. His father laughed and tried to make him feel comfortable, but the
little child was scared when he realized that the waves were so powerful.
 
My introduction to the Y.M.CA. swimming pool revived unpleasant
memories and stirred childish fears. But in a little while I gathered
confidence. I paddled with my new water wings, watching the other boys
and trying to learn by aping them. I did this two or three times on different
days and was just beginning to feel at ease in the water when the
misadventure happened.
 
Revived – brought back to mind
Aping - copying
To feel at ease – to feel comfortable
 
When William joined the swimming pool at the Y.M.C.A., the fear of water
resurfaced in his mind. He gathered confidence by watching other boys
swim and tried to copy them. He had done this twice or thrice at different
occasions and had started gaining confidence when the incident
happened. He had a narrow escape from death.
 
I went to the pool when no one else was there. The place was quiet. The
water was still, and the tiled bottom was as white and clean as a bathtub. I
was timid about going in alone, so I sat on the side of the pool to wait for
others.
 
 
When William reached the pool, no one was there and so he sat on the
edge waiting for other boys to arrive. He was afraid to swim all alone in the
pool. As the swimming pool was empty, William could see the bottom also.
It had white coloured tiles on it and looked white and clean like a bath tub.

 
I had not been there long when in came a big bruiser of a boy, probably
eighteen years old. He had thick hair on his chest. He was a beautiful
physical specimen, with legs and arms that showed rippling muscles. He
yelled, “Hi, Skinny! How’d you like to be ducked?”
 
Bruiser - a person who is tough and aggressive and enjoys a fight or
argument
Specimen – example
Skinny – a thin person
Ducked - push or plunge someone under water
 
It had not been long since William had been sitting by the pool when a boy
arrived. He was around eighteen years of age, had a well – built body with
rippling muscles. He seemed to be a bully. He asked William if he wanted
to be thrown into the pool.
 
With that he picked me up and tossed me into the deep end. I landed in a
sitting position, swallowed water, and went at once to the bottom. I was
frightened, but not yet frightened out of my wits. On the way down I
planned: When my feet hit the bottom, I would make a big jump, come to
the surface, lie flat on it, and paddle to the edge of the pool.
 
Tossed – threw
Wits – intelligence
 
The boy picked William and threw him into the deep end of the swimming
pool. William landed on the surface of the pool in the same position as he
had been sitting in. His mouth was open and as he did not know swimming,
he swallowed water as he sank into the pool. He was frightened, but he
used his intelligence and on his way down the pool, planned to push
himself up when he reached the bottom. He thought that he would make a
big jump to the surface, lie on his back and swim to the edge of the pool.
 

It seemed a long way down. Those nine feet were more like ninety, and
before I touched bottom my lungs were ready to burst. But when my feet hit
bottom I summoned all my strength and made what I thought was a great
spring upwards. I imagined I would bob to the surface like a cork. Instead, I
came up slowly. I opened my eyes and saw nothing but water — water that
had a dirty yellow tinge to it. I grew panicky. I reached up as if to grab a
rope and my hands clutched only at water. I was suffocating. I tried to yell
but no sound came out. Then my eyes and nose came out of the water —
but not my mouth.
 
 
 
Summoned – gathered
Spring – push
Bob – jump
Tinge – touch of colour
Suffocating – unable to breathe due to lack of air
Yell – scream
 
William took a long time to reach the bottom of the pool. It seemed that the
depth was ninety feet instead of nine feet. He could not hold his breath and
felt as if his lungs would burst. When his feet touched the bottom of the
pool, he gathered all his strength and jumped upwards. He had thought
that the next moment, he would come out of the pool, but the opposite
happened. His movement upwards was slow and when he opened his
eyes, he saw water all around which was yellowish in colour. William got
scared and tried to grab something – a rope which would help him reach
the edge of the pool, but he got nothing other than water. William was at a
loss of breath and tried to scream for help, but no sound came out of his
mouth. His nose and eyes came out of the water, but his mouth remained
in it.
 

I flailed at the surface of the water, swallowed and choked. I tried to bring
my legs up, but they hung as dead weights, paralysed and rigid. A great
force was pulling me under. I screamed, but only the water heard me. I had
started on the long journey back to the bottom of the pool.
 
Flailed – waved his hands
Choked – unable to breathe
Rigid – hard
 
William waved his hands at the surface of the water for help, but he
swallowed water and choked himself. He tried to pull his legs up, but they
were very heavy and lifeless. He felt that something was pulling him
towards the depth of the pool. He screamed but his voice did not go out of
the water. Once again, William started going down towards the bottom of
the pool.
 

I struck at the water as I went down, expending my strength as one in a

nightmare fights an irresistible force. I had lost all my breath. My lungs
ached, my head throbbed. I was getting dizzy. But I remembered the
strategy — I would spring from the bottom of the pool and come like a cork
to the surface. I would lie flat on the water, strike out with my arms, and
thrash with my legs. Then I would get to the edge of the pool and be safe.
 

 
Expending – losing, giving out
Ached – pained
Throbbed – felt pain in a series of beats
Dizzy – faint, unsteady
Strategy – plan of action
Strike out – extend
Thrash – hit with force
 
William tried to save himself from drowning in the pool and tried to grab
something, but as there was water all around, he could not do so. He
compares his situation to a person who sees a nightmare and fights
against the dreadful dream but is unable to ward it off. William was
breathless. He felt pain in his lungs and his head felt a sensation of
beating. He was getting unconscious, but he could recollect the plan to
save himself – as his feet touched the bottom, he would take a leap and
jump up to the surface in a jiffy. Then he would lie on his back, hit the
strokes with his limbs and reach to the edge of the pool to safety.
 
I went down, down, endlessly. I opened my eyes. Nothing but water with a
yellow glow — dark water that one could not see through. And then sheer,
stark terror seized me, terror that knows no understanding, terror that
knows no control, terror that no one can understand who has not
experienced it. I was shrieking under water. I was paralysed under water —
stiff, rigid with fear. Even the screams in my throat were frozen. Only my
heart, and the pounding in my head, said that I was still alive.
 

 
Stark – severe
Seized – gripped
Shrieking – screaming
Paralysed – incapable of movement
Pounding – repeated beating
 
William sank into the pool and the journey downwards seemed endless. He
opened his eyes. There was water all around. It had a yellowish glow and
he could not see through it. This terrorized William. He says that his feeling
can not be explained but it can only be understood by those who have
experienced a similar situation. He was screaming in the water, he was
unable to move due to the fear. His screams also froze. Only his heart beat
and the beating in his head indicated that he was alive.
 
And then in the midst of the terror came a touch of reason. I must
remember to jump when I hit the bottom. At last I felt the tiles under me. My
toes reached out as if to grab them. I jumped with everything I had.
 
In the midst of – between
 
In between the phase of terror, William recollected the plan that he had to
take a jump as he touched the bottom of the pool. As he felt the tiles of the
bottom of the pool, his feet used all the strength he had, and he jumped up.
 
But the jump made no difference. The water was still around me. I looked
for ropes, ladders, water wings. Nothing but water. A mass of yellow water
held me. Stark terror took an even deeper hold on me, like a great charge
of electricity. I shook and trembled with fright. My arms wouldn’t move. My
legs wouldn’t move. I tried to call for help, to call for mother. Nothing
happened.
 
The effort went in vain. He was still submerged in the water. He looked
around for help, for any rope, ladder or water wing with the help of which
he could rescue himself. He could only see water all around him. It was as
if a chunk of yellow water had grabbed him. The terror grew intense. It was
like an electric shock that ran through the whole body. He trembled with
fright. He could neither move his limbs nor call out for help.
 
And then, strangely, there was light. I was coming out of the awful yellow
water. At least my eyes were. My nose was almost out too.
 
Then I started down a third time. I sucked for air and got water. The
yellowish light was going out. Then all effort ceased. I relaxed. Even my
legs felt limp; and a blackness swept over my brain. It wiped out fear; it
wiped out terror. There was no more panic. It was quiet and peaceful.
Nothing to be afraid of. This is nice... to be drowsy... to go to sleep... no
need to jump... too tired to jump... it’s nice to be carried gently... to float
along in space... tender arms around me... tender arms like Mother’s... now
I must go to sleep...
 
Ceased – ended
Limp – lifeless
 
Something strange happened, and William saw light. His eyes came out of
the water. His nose was almost out of it.
Then he started going downwards into the pool for the third time. He tried
to breathe but gulped water instead. The light went out as he drowned
again. Then he stopped making efforts to save himself. William relaxed, his
legs became lifeless and his brain experienced a black – out. The fear
ended, he did not panic. He became quite and experienced peace. He was
not afraid of drowning any more. He felt sleepy, was tired to jump up, felt
nice to be carried in his mother’s arms as he felt sleepy.
 
I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell.

 
Oblivion - the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening
around one
Curtain of life fell – life came to an end
 
William became unconscious as he drifted away towards death.
 
The next I remember I was lying on my stomach beside the pool, vomiting.
The chap that threw me in was saying, “But I was only fooling.” Someone
said, “The kid nearly died. Be all right now. Let’s carry him to the locker
room.”
 
When William gained consciousness, he was lying on his stomach, beside
the pool and was vomiting. He heard someone scolding the boy who had
pushed him into the pool. The voice said that William had almost died, and
the boy replied that he was fooling with him. The voice asked the boy to
carry William to the locker room.
 
Several hours later, I walked home. I was weak and trembling. I shook and
cried when I lay on my bed. I couldn’t eat that night. For days a haunting
fear was in my heart. The slightest exertion upset me, making me wobbly in
the knees and sick to my stomach.
 
Wobbly – weak
 
After many hours, William walked home. He felt weak and shivered. He
kept on crying as he lay on the bed. He was unable to eat food. The fear
kept on haunting him for many days. The incident made him physically
upset. The slightest work made him feel that his knees were unable to bear
his weight. He would feel like vomiting.
 
I never went back to the pool. I feared water. I avoided it whenever I could.
 
William did not go to the swimming pool as he feared the water. He
remained away from water.
 

 
A few years later when I came to know the waters of the Cascades, I
wanted to get into them. And whenever I did — whether I was wading the
Tieton or Bumping River or bathing in Warm Lake of the Goat Rocks — the
terror that had seized me in the pool would come back. It would take
possession of me completely. My legs would become paralysed. Icy horror
would grab my heart.
 
Cascades – waterfall
 
After some years, William came to know of a waterfall and wanted to go in
it. Whenever he went for swimming in different rivers like the Tieton,
Bumping river, Warm lake of the Goat Rocks, the fear of water returned. It
would grab him completely, disable his limbs and grab his heart.
 
This handicap stayed with me as the years rolled by. In canoes on Maine
lakes fishing for landlocked salmon, bass fishing in New Hampshire, trout
fishing on the Deschutes and Metolius in Oregon, fishing for salmon on the
Columbia, at Bumping Lake in the Cascades — wherever I went, the
haunting fear of the water followed me. It ruined my fishing trips; deprived
me of the joy of canoeing, boating, and swimming.
 
Handicap - a circumstance that makes progress or success difficult
Canoes – small boats
Ruined – destroyed
Deprived – to take away
 
The fear of water remained with William as he grew up. On the boating
trips to different lakes in the Maine region, New Hampshire, Deschutes,
Metolius, Columbia, Bumping lake - where he fished different varieties of
fish, namely – salmon, bass and trout, the fear followed him. His fishing
trips were destroyed as he did not enjoy boating and swimming due to the
fear.
 
I used every way I knew to overcome this fear, but it held me firmly in its
grip. Finally, one October, I decided to get an instructor and learn to swim. I
went to a pool and practiced five days a week, an hour each day. The
instructor put a belt around me. A rope attached to the belt went through a
pulley that ran on an overhead cable. He held on to the end of the rope,
and we went back and forth, back and forth across the pool, hour after
hour, day after day, week after week. On each trip across the pool a bit of
the panic seized me. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope
and I went under, some of the old terror returned and my legs froze. It was
three months before the tension began to slack. Then he taught me to put
my face under water and exhale, and to raise my nose and inhale. I
repeated the exercise hundreds of times. Bit by bit I shed part of the panic
that seized me when my head went under water.
 
Cable – thick rope
Slack – to reduce
Shed – removed
Panic – fear
Seized – gripped
 
William tried to ward of the fear but was unable to get rid of it. Finally, in the
month of October, he hired an instructor to teach him swimming. He would
practise for an hour each day, five days a week. William describes the
learning process. The instructor put a belt around William’s waist. The belt
was attached to a thick rope. The rope went through an overhead pulley
and was held by the instructor. It ensured that in case William drowned, the
instructor would pull him out. William swam across the length of the pool
for several weeks. Whenever the instructor loosened the rope, he went
down into the water and the fear would return. It would immobilize his legs.
It was after three months of practise that William got comfortable. Then the
instructor taught him to breathe in the water. He taught him to put his face
under the water and exhale his breathe.  He was taught to raise his nose
out of the water and inhale. William practiced several times. Gradually, he
got rid of the panic that would grab him when he put his head under the
water.
 
Next he held me at the side of the pool and had me kick with my legs. For
weeks I did just that. At first my legs refused to work. But they gradually
relaxed; and finally I could command them.
 
 
Command – order
 
In the third phase of the learning process, the instructor taught William to
kick the water’s surface with his legs. He did this for many weeks. Initially,
his legs did not move but gradually, they relaxed and finally, William could
order them to kick in the desired way.
 
Thus, piece by piece, he built a swimmer. And when he had perfected each
piece, he put them together into an integrated whole. In April he said, “Now
you can swim. Dive off and swim the length of the pool, crawl stroke.”
 
Stroke - a particular style of moving the arms and legs in swimming.
 
Finally, the instructor made a swimmer out of William in phases. When
William had perfected each phase, he compiled them. In the month of April,
the instructor told William that now he could swim. He asked him to dive
into the pool and swim the length of the pool in a particular style called the
crawl stroke.
 
I did. The instructor was finished.
 
William swam and the classes came to an end.
 
But I was not finished. I still wondered if I would be terror-stricken when I
was alone in the pool. I tried it. I swam the length up and down. Tiny
vestiges of the old terror would return. But now I could frown and say to
that terror, “Trying to scare me, eh? Well, here’s to you! Look!”
And off I’d go for another length of the pool.
 
Vestiges – traces
 
William had not overcome the fear yet and wondered if the terror would
grab him when he would be alone in the water. He tried to swim alone in
the pool. The terror returned in small phases but now, as he knew how to
swim, he faced the terror with confidence. He swam another length of the
pool.
 
This went on until July. But I was still not satisfied. I was not sure that all
the terror had left. So I went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived
off a dock at Triggs Island, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp
Act Island. I swam the crawl, breast stroke, side stroke, and back stroke.
Only once did the terror return. When I was in the middle of the lake, I put
my face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. The old sensation
returned in miniature. I laughed and said, “Well, Mr Terror, what do you
think you can do to me?” It fled and I swam on.
 
Miniature – small size
 
William swam like this till the month of July but was not satisfied. He
wanted to be sure that all of the fear had left him. So, he went to Lake
Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived into it from Triggs island and swam
for two miles, up to Stamp Act island. He swam in different styles – crawl,
breast stroke, side stroke and back stroke. The terror returned only once
when he was in the middle of the lake. When he put his head under water,
he saw water all around and the fear returned. This time, William laughed
at the terror and said to it that it could not harm him. He saw that the terror
vanished, and he resumed swimming.
 
Yet I had residual doubts. At my first opportunity I hurried west, went up the
Tieton to Conrad Meadows, up the Conrad Creek Trail to Meade Glacier,
and camped in the high meadow by the side of Warm Lake. The next
morning I stripped, dived into the lake, and swam across to the other shore
and back — just as Doug Corpron used to do. I shouted with joy, and
Gilbert Peak returned the echo. I had conquered my fear of water.
 
William still had some doubt about the fear. So, he hurried towards the
western direction. He went up the Tieton, reached Conrad meadows,
walked up the Conrad creek trail to Meade glacier. He camped at the
meadow by the Warm lake. The next morning, he wore the swimming
costume and dived into the lake. He swam across it to the other end and
returned just like the famous American Doug Corpron used to do. William
shouted with joy as he had overcome his fear. His voice resounded as the
mountain peak named Gilbert peak reverberated it. He had overcome the
fear.
 
 
 
The experience had a deep meaning for me, as only those who have
known stark terror and conquered it can appreciate. In death there is
peace. There is terror only in the fear of death, as Roosevelt knew when he
said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.” Because I had experienced both the
sensation of dying and the terror that fear of it can produce, the will to live
somehow grew in intensity.
 
At last I felt released — free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to
brush aside fear.
 
The experience had a great importance in William’s life. He realized that
death was peaceful and only the fear of death was fearful. He recollects
the words of one of the Presidents of America – Roosevelt. Roosevelt had
said that all we have to fear is fear itself. As William had experienced death
and the fear of death, his desire to live grew immensely. He felt released
from fear and was free to walk up the trails and climb up the mountains
fearlessly.
 

Deep Water Question and Answers

 
Q1. How does Douglas make clear to the reader the sense of panic that
gripped him as he almost drowned? Describe the details that have made
the description vivid.
A. William describes his experience where he had a close brush with death
at the Y.M.C.A.  Swimming pool. As it a first-person account, he has
described it deeply. The emotional, mental and physical struggle and the
paralyzing fear of drowning have been discussed in detail.
William retained his intelligence and had a plan to come to the surface. He
tried it but I did not work and after a few trials to save his life, death dawned
upon him. All these details make the description vivid.
 
Q2. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?
A. William Douglas was not able to come out of his fear. So, he hired a
swimming instructor. Once he had learned swimming, he wanted to check if
he had overcome the fear as well. He would swim in lakes and found the
fear to return in small phases. William was no longer scared as he knew
that he could swim. Hence, he overcame the fear.
 
Q3. Why does Douglas as an adult recount a childhood experience of terror
and his conquering of it? What larger meaning does he draw from this
experience?
A. William Douglas gives a detailed description of his childhood experience
so that the reader gets familiar with the kind of fear that he had as a child.
When he quotes Roosevelt ““All we have to fear is fear itself” he tries to
draw a larger meaning from this experience. He wants to highlight the fact
that life became meaningful and the desire to live grew intense once he
had conquered his fear.
 

Board questions
Q1: Answer the following question in 120 – 150 words:                      (10)
[CBSE paper, 2012]
How did Douglas develop an aversion to water?
OR
Q2: Answer the following question in 120 – 150 words:                      (6)
[CBSE paper, 2015]
What happened at the YMCA swimming pool which instilled fear of water in
Douglas’ mind?
A: Since the age of three or four, when the author accompanied his father
to the beach, he realized that he disliked water. He would get frightened by
the power of the waves which threw him, swept over and he was buried in
water.
Later, at the age of ten – eleven years, he decided to learn swimming. He
joined swimming classes at a swimming pool at the Y.M.C.A. He felt that
the swimming pool was safe. Also, the pair of water wings would help him
stay on the surface but more, they instilled a sense of confidence in him. It
was just when he had started feeling comfortable that an incident took
place. A big boy picked up the author and threw him in the pool at the deep
end. He got water in his mouth and sank to the bottom. He was frightened
but kept his mind working and devised a way out but things did not turn out
as planned. His lungs felt as if they would burst, he was overpowered by
fear, reached out, as if to grab something, but could only get his hands on
the water. He got suffocated due to lack of air, could not scream, moved his
arms desperately but all his efforts failed and he once again sank to the
bottom of the pool. An unexplainable terror seized him. His limbs were
lifeless, rigid due to fear and he could not even scream, the only sign of life
was his heart beat. He sucked in water and then suddenly all his efforts to
save himself stopped. He was relaxed, peaceful, fearless and sleepy,
almost dead.
It was due to these experiences that the author developed an aversion to
water.
 
Q3: Answer in 30 – 40
words:                                                                                (2)
[CBSE paper, 2013]
How did the instructor turn Douglas into a swimmer?
A: The instructor made him practice swimming step by step and gradually,
piece by piece, turned him into a swimmer. When he had perfected each
piece, he put them together into an integrated whole.
 
Q4: Answer the following question in 120 – 150 words:                      (6)
[CBSE paper, 2015]
Describe the efforts made by Douglas to overcome his fear of water.
A: Douglas was in the tight grip of a fear of swimming in water bodies and
finally decided to get rid of it. He hired an instructor who taught him
swimming piece by piece and when he had learnt it all, he combined all the
pieces together and made Douglas a swimmer. Still, he was not confident,
and the terror would seize him time and again. Douglas wanted to get rid of
all the fear, he wanted to conquer it. So, he went to various lakes, dived
and swam across them. He reverted sarcastically to the tiny vestiges of
fear that would grip him time and again until all of it vanished away.
Douglas realized that fear was merely a crop of the mind and once he had
conquered it, he felt released, free to walk arduous terrains, climb peaks
and brush aside fear. Douglas had faced stark terror and then by
conquering it his desire to live life grew intensely.
 
Q5: Answer the following question in 30 – 40 words:                           (2)
[CBSE paper, 2016]
How did his experience at the YMCA swimming pool affect Douglas?
A: Douglas’ experience of drowning and almost being dead instilled a fear
of water in him.  He shook and cried, couldn’t eat, for days a haunting fear
engulfed him, the slightest exertion upset him. He never went back to the
pool, feared water and avoided it whenever he could.