As an "outsider" to the world of "hardcore" swimming ...
Former Member
I swim a lot and really enjoy it. It's something I've done all of my life, growing up in Southern California, and it's my main form of exercise. I'm good at it, but I do it primarily for health and enjoyment.
I've noticed from lurking around this board for several years that there seems to be a very self-congratulatory, cliquish tone to many threads and posts. It seems like it's often a small group of people who post relentlessly, as if they are engaged in some sort of private conversation where they're trying to outdo each other.
Maybe I'm the only one who feels that way. Maybe that's part and parcel of the world of "hardcore" competitive swimmers. Or maybe it's because there wouldn't be anything else to talk about, unless there weren't a constant focus on who's the "best" at this or that.
A race is something that happens once in a while, whereas a lifetime of swimming lasts, well, a lifetime. Yes, it's great to break a certain time in a certain race, but it's also great to have the self-discpline to keep at a daily swimming program and work on improving one's technique and endurance. Both are valid, and, to my mind, neither is more worthy of praise than the other.
Jim Thornton, if I recall correctly, noted a while ago that there were a lot of people lurking around the board and not really participating. If that is the case, I would propose that may be due to the general off-putting tone of things on here. (I won't give examples at this point, although I could.)
I thought that was one of Sir Winston's quotes. I know he said that he'd rather have sexual relations with a horde of Huns than a woman with a rolling pin. But he put this much more delicately. His exact quote:
Nancy Astor: “Sir, if you were my husband, I would give you my rolling pin.”
Churchill: “If I were your husband I would feed a crocodile in the hopes it will eat me first." Whereupon he quickly added, "History will be kind to me for I intend to right it."
Ah, but you are right. The poor fellow's quote has gotten bastardized over the years. I will correct my signature to give credit where it is due and to put the proper quote in which is as follows:
"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."
Swimstud will be so proud that I quoted one of his own. I should note that there is a dispute among scholars as to whether Churchill actually made the above statement.
I thought that was one of Sir Winston's quotes. I know he said that he'd rather have sexual relations with a horde of Huns than a woman with a rolling pin. But he put this much more delicately. His exact quote:
Nancy Astor: “Sir, if you were my husband, I would give you my rolling pin.”
Churchill: “If I were your husband I would feed a crocodile in the hopes it will eat me first." Whereupon he quickly added, "History will be kind to me for I intend to right it."
Ah, but you are right. The poor fellow's quote has gotten bastardized over the years. I will correct my signature to give credit where it is due and to put the proper quote in which is as follows:
"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."
Swimstud will be so proud that I quoted one of his own. I should note that there is a dispute among scholars as to whether Churchill actually made the above statement.
