Soaked In Stupidity

“There is no more reason to pay for private education than there is to pay for a private swimming pool for those who do not use public facilities.”~ Albert Shanker

One more post about my latest trip to Houston that I promised I would write about.

Everyone knows about that stereotypical swimming pool that is counted for a hotel amenities. Pools that are only about 3-6 feet deep from one end to the other. The one which has rules and warnings about how there are never any lifeguards on duty and that patrons must swim at their own risk.

Well, the Motel 6 that I was at was no exception. I found it while going through the hallways of the hotel which led to the rooms. It was a side door which during my first night there I went through it as I took in the night to relax and come to realize that I had made it to Houston.

As my wheelchair coasted along the sidewalk that led to the pool area, I was kind of surprised to see that the fence which separated the property of the motel from the rest of the world showed the parking lot of a shopping plaza. Usually I have only seen swimming pools towards either the front of the property. But never towards the back, and never have I seen the fence so low to separate.

I kept looking around, I was dubious to the fact that I was getting closer to the swimming pool.

I noticed that the front wheels of the wheelchair no longer was getting any traction. I wondered what was wrong.

But before I knew it …………………………………. I did a face plant into the surface of the pool water and completely went under.

I fell into the pool.

The problem is that I would most likely drown in any other situation. But the only thing that saved my life was the thought that I needed to start moving my arms so that I could boost my body UPWARDS to above the surface.

With water in my nose, lungs, and mouth I gripped on to the side of the pool and tried to breathe. I went into a frenzy of choking and coughing.

I didn’t see it but some random stranger who was an eyewitness to everything jumped over the fence and began to pull me up out of the pool by the shoulders. As I laid there like a beached whale, drenched with pool water the only thing that I could think of was to tell him to save the wheelchair from rust brought on by the water.

I looked and saw that the wheelchair was just sitting there upright at the bottom of the pool like it was meant to be there. The good Samaritan rolled up his pant legs above his knees and grabbed the wheelchair with both hands and rescued it.

I thanked him profusely and as I did the hotel staff came out who kept asking over and over again if I wanted a towel. They then proceeded to pat me down with towels, over my clothes and wheelchair. I wondered what that was about.

A disaster that ended up being probably the most hilarious experience that I’ve gone through all year long. It was a classic scene from a Laurel & Hardy episode. I was just lucky that it didn’t happen on the day that I was to attend the show.