Michael Phelps and a bong? Is there any truth to this?

To inject a serious thought: in this discussion, terms like 'role models' and 'hero' have been used variously. While I am a total swimming fan and naturally wowed by Phelp's feats, along with the attendant dedication necessary to achieve them, I think it would be much healthier to choose our heroes, not automatically from celebrity/sports figures but from within those ranks of people who transcend fear, danger, disease etc., to either save lives or achieve great social good. They are out there. To paraphrase Pogo, We have seen the role model, and it is (or at least can be) us. We had a college swimmer home for a couple weeks who swam with us in the mornings. We got a thank you note from her when she got back to school: Hey CGM Masters! I had a lot of fun swimming with all of you these past two weeks. I'm really impressed with everyone and your ability and commitment to wake up so early every day of the week. It's really an inspiration to see people of all ages swimming like I've seen all of you do. Plus you all have such great attitudes! Thanks so much for being so accepting and nice to me and willing to take me in while I was home from school. I have a couple weeks of swimming left when I return with the big Conference Meet in Federal Way, Washington on the weekend of February 13-15. I was glad I got to get back in shape with your help. Who knows, maybe I'll see you again in the summer :-) Good luck with swimming! Have fun! We have some 14 year old kids who join us once a week or so to get in a double. I have heard from a parent of one of the kids that they are impressed with how fast and tough some of those old people are. I'm sure She-Puff-Diddy is an inspiration to the kiddos she trains with, even if they don't currently know it. Those kids will grow up with an awareness of masters swimming, and the sub-conscious knowledge that you don't have to give up and let yourself go at 30, or 35, or 60. While Dara helped some, she seems a little surreal, with her personal trainers, nanny, and independent wealth. Masters are real people, with real jobs, real family issues, and real problems. Oregon has some of the fastest men and women swimmers in the country. To a person, I have found them to be kind, friendly, engaging, and, in the pool, fiercely competitive. 74 year old Olympian Dave Radcliff is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, edits our newsletter, looks about 20 -30 years younger than he apparently is, and has kicked my sorry *** in the pool. When my kids start talking about heroes and role models, I hope to steer them in the direction of some of the real people in our lives, including my swimming friends.

To inject a serious thought: in this discussion, terms like 'role models' and 'hero' have been used variously. While I am a total swimming fan and naturally wowed by Phelp's feats, along with the attendant dedication necessary to achieve them, I think it would be much healthier to choose our heroes, not automatically from celebrity/sports figures but from within those ranks of people who transcend fear, danger, disease etc., to either save lives or achieve great social good. They are out there. To paraphrase Pogo, We have seen the role model, and it is (or at least can be) us. We had a college swimmer home for a couple weeks who swam with us in the mornings. We got a thank you note from her when she got back to school: Hey CGM Masters! I had a lot of fun swimming with all of you these past two weeks. I'm really impressed with everyone and your ability and commitment to wake up so early every day of the week. It's really an inspiration to see people of all ages swimming like I've seen all of you do. Plus you all have such great attitudes! Thanks so much for being so accepting and nice to me and willing to take me in while I was home from school. I have a couple weeks of swimming left when I return with the big Conference Meet in Federal Way, Washington on the weekend of February 13-15. I was glad I got to get back in shape with your help. Who knows, maybe I'll see you again in the summer :-) Good luck with swimming! Have fun! We have some 14 year old kids who join us once a week or so to get in a double. I have heard from a parent of one of the kids that they are impressed with how fast and tough some of those old people are. I'm sure She-Puff-Diddy is an inspiration to the kiddos she trains with, even if they don't currently know it. Those kids will grow up with an awareness of masters swimming, and the sub-conscious knowledge that you don't have to give up and let yourself go at 30, or 35, or 60. While Dara helped some, she seems a little surreal, with her personal trainers, nanny, and independent wealth. Masters are real people, with real jobs, real family issues, and real problems. Oregon has some of the fastest men and women swimmers in the country. To a person, I have found them to be kind, friendly, engaging, and, in the pool, fiercely competitive. 74 year old Olympian Dave Radcliff is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, edits our newsletter, looks about 20 -30 years younger than he apparently is, and has kicked my sorry *** in the pool. When my kids start talking about heroes and role models, I hope to steer them in the direction of some of the real people in our lives, including my swimming friends.