CENTRAL BROOKLYN MODEL CITIES SUMMER PROGRAMS. Another of the many residential camp for the “urban youth” back in the late ’70’s.

I was 14 and deeply into swimming, with no access to more than the neighborhood recreation pool. We went to The University of Durham New Hampshire. Beautiful campus, I immediately fell in love with the young lifeguard instructor, who stayed on campus to teach swimming for the summer.

Fancied myself a great swimmer until told to do just 10 laps the full length of that olympic pool in order to qualify to begin diving and life-saving instruction. I almost burst a lung.It took a couple of weeks and many hours before I could knock-out 20 laps without hardship.

Organized sports in that environment was just what we roughnecks needed. They had science and other classes to keep our minds from getting rusty for the summer. We even saw dissected felines marinating in formaldyhyde.

Fresh air and adolescent hormones. I finally developed a crush on some one my own age, Paris Lucas, the best guy swimmer in the group, I was the best girl. I wasn’t so popular, so I could spend more time developing my skills than the more developed ladies. Paris thought I was just fine, and that suited me. I had been made president of the “Itty Bitty Titty Committee, and they were nice enough to hang my name-labled 32AA bra on the camp flagpole.

They took the swimmers to the ocean and had us swim out to a distant rock formation. Most of us made it and 3 of us decided to hang out and sunbathe on that rock for a few hours. Later, We were baked and exhausted and could barely make it back.

I was cocky when executing bold high-dives until I didn’t pull out in time and smacked into the water. They thought I was joking and took a while to figure out that I was unconscious. Gave me a red burn much worse than a sun.

It was a great healthy summer that took me out of my usual element. Open fire hydrants on a hot summer day are great, but I’d opt for a clean non-overcrowded olympic pool any day.