Cannon Ball!

“Cannon Ball!!!”, I yelled in mid-air hugging my knees with eyes fixed on the bobbing heads beneath me. Splash!

“Good one Tim!”, said one of the boys treading water as I came up to the surface. Six scrawny boys gleefully swam to the side of the pool to re-take our positions in line at the diving board.

Going back a few years to 1978 in Ellendale, ND, I was 11 years-old, with a summer pass to our small local outdoor public pool.  With 6-8 friends we spent nearly everyday in the pool except for days with thunderstorms and passing tornados. I was so tan that when I changed it looked like I had spray-on “Fruit of the Looms”. At a hulking 83lbs, I was a lean, mean, belly-flopping machine. One of our favorite games in the pool was “Bomber”. We would take turns off the diving board and tread water as our friends would try to splash us with water explosive dives like the Cannon Ball, Can Opener, Watermelon, Twister, Dead Man, and Torpedo. Surprisingly when I tried to play this game with my kids, Lifeguards would blow their whistle from the top of their guard tower, give me a disapproving look and point to get out of the pool. As I swm to the ladder, I would dejectedly mumble something under the water like “splll…teenage…bllerpp… whistle blowing...ggrlggle…Nazi.”

This past week I drove by an outdoor pool (closed for the winter and longing for hot sunny days) that reminded me of that awesome summer of 1978. What made that carefree summer so special was the friendships we developed as we morphed into prunes bobbing in the water. I think of the special memories and friendships I’ve treasured over the years: Sitting next to a fellow trumpeter snickering at the squeaking clarinet in H.S. band, getting grass stains and shin burns with my softball teammates, sharing a cup of coffee or Buffalo Hot Wings with friends, hiking, horseshoes, playing disc golf or going on a motorcycle ride. The Apostle Paul affirms the joy and thankfulness of brothers in Christ as he witnesses their spiritual maturity and friendships grow.

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. – 2 Thessalonians 1:3 (ESV) 

As wonderful as my treasured memories are, I am looking forward to discovering more with you…bring it on and give it your best Cannon Ball.