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 guess it is official that I cannot escape my designation as the Traditional Lifestyle Patrol. Well, I'll admit that I'm flattered that Hofffam thought about me. I suppose that I have no choice but to revel in my role as TLP.
Jim T., you must have a name for an individual who interned for Ted Kennedy and has now become the USMS version of Dr. Laura.
Gull, for what it's worth, I'm drinking a double of NyQuil Cold and Flu, Cherry-Flavored, straight up. To have a double of my double, simply purchase the 6 oz. size bottle and drain the whole thing. I recommend a Sonata chaser. Since I became a teetotaler several years ago, this is as close as my sober conscience will allow me to relive the glories of a Depth Charge. It does, alas, leave something of a headbanger of a hangover, which is why I can't wait till bedtime to indulge in some hair of the dog.
Unless....
I think I feel a sniffle coming on.
Yes!
That is a definite sniffle!
To the medicine chest!
Elise, we simply refer to such people as a
SWHLHWBWTTOTSLCBS.*
*She Who Has Lost Her Way But With The Tutelage Of The Spiritual Leader Can Be Saved.
Much much longer than the simple HWMNBN.*
He who must not be named.
(Sorry, couldn't resist. Insider joke.)
"If you're not liberal when you're young, then you don't have a heart. If you're not conservative when you're old, then you don't have a head."
- Unknown
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."
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.
"That is the wonderful thing about masters swimming. Unless you are a real slacker during workouts, your biological age will remain under 30 until you die from unnatural causes.
"Or, to put it another way, any swimmer who is conservative at any point in his or her life is lazy."
--Sir Winston Churchill
Note: there is no dispute about whether he said THAT.
In the last few weeks I've seen two new members on this forum and noticed the difference in how the others interact with them. One comes here with an attitude, whining about the cliques and inside jokes and so on and basically created his own "outsider" situation. The other just jumped right in, " Hi guys, I'm new to swimming and could use some advice. Can you help?" He is rapidly becoming an accepted part of this forum.
We were all outsiders at one time, for me, first it was swimming since I began as a fitness swimmer in my late forties. Then as an outsider on this forum when I joined a little more than 2 years ago. This forum has helped me to become a better swimmer, I've made connections with other forum members here that led to us actually meeting at swim meets and becoming friends.
This forum and swimming is what you make of it. You come with a chip on your shoulder and a "nobody loves me" attitude and guess what? You reap what you sow.
