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Stories

The River Ride by Robert H. Gilbert, Jr.

We have seen movies and some, perhaps, have read books about the big rapids, in the Colorado river, flowing through the Grand Canyon. The river raft riders will tell you of the greatest experience they've ever had, going through the rapids; an experience they will never forget. This is about five young college friends going on a vacation of their lives, especially for one student named Sam. Throughout the last year in college, several friends and I, got together and decided to do something, after graduation, that we all could share in our memories. There was Billy, Dave, Paul, Rick, and myself, Sam. We shared the same dormitory room at college. Billy and Paul worked at Pizza Hut, Dave and Rick were waiters at the local pub, and I worked at McDonalds. John's family provided everything that he needed. We knew his family was rich. But, he did not brag about it, except for when it came to working. We shared a part of our lives together, for four years. So, there was not much we did not know about each other. When we started back to college, in our last year, we talked about our boring summer. Billy said that all he did was help his dad bale hay. Dave said his summer break was going to his grandma's house in Cleveland. John went fishing. Paul said he slept the entire time he was home. Rick said he promised his girlfriend, Sally, they would spend the summer at Padre Island. Me? I worked my summer vacation at McDonalds. That is why we all decided to do something for ourselves after graduation. We got books and maps of different places to go and decided on the river raft ride down the Colorado river. Each of us had chores that we must do to get ready for our trip. My separate chore was to take swimming lessons. We concluded that it would cost each of us $950. Everything was going according to plans, except my swimming lessons. Every time the coach thought I was doing it right, I sank to the bottom ~ like a rock. Needless to say, the coach gave up on me. All throughout the last year of college, I went out the dorm, in my swim suit, to get me a hamburger. On the way, I would stop at a water fountain and splash water all over my body. Then, I'd tell everyone I just got through swimming. I sure wasn't going to tell my room mates I failed swimming lessons. They would never let me live it down. They would not want me to go with them either and they had my money, already. So, I was going. We had two weeks left, before graduation, and all plans were a go. We were all excited about hitting the rapids. We awoke around 6 AM., ate breakfast, and was at the corral by 0800, to ride horseback down to the bottom of the canyon. We loaded the raft evenly, on both sides. The guide passed out life jackets. When I told him I wanted two jackets, they laughed. The raft was pushed out onto the river and we were on our way. At first, it was a smooth ride. Then, we could see the rapids ahead. My job was to keep water out of the raft, with a bucket. The raft began to go up and down, then sideways. A rock broke John's and Paul's oars. Suddenly, my rope broke and I was flying through the air. As I looked down at the river of rocks, I yelled as loud as I could, "I CAN'T SWIM, HELP ME!!" I landed, head first, in the water. As I hit, I started flinging my arms and legs. I tried to tell myself I had a life jacket on. But, my brain would not listen. The swiftness of the current pulled me under. The raft was about a mile ahead of me and no one was looking back. They didn't even know I was gone. The currents became stronger and the life jacket could not keep my face up. Heading down river, I could see the jagged rocks ahead of me and I knew I could not miss them. My body slammed into a rock and, I guess, I passed out. Though, I remember trying to hang on to the slippery rock. But, my strength was gone. The cold water and the swift current was taking me away. I slowly went under ... how far down, I don't know. For some reason, the water became still; no rocks and no currents. I could feel my feet dragging the bottom and, as I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the river. I tried, several times, to stand. But, I would fall back into the water. My legs and arms were numb from the coldness of the river. Also, I had lost my socks and tennis shoes. Several hours had passed when I heard laughter near the tree line. I must be on some island, I told myself ... but where? Making my way over to where a multitude of people were standing around, I noticed they were wearing long white gowns. Music was being played on Harps. I wondered what island I was on. Amongst the people were lions, elephants, and tigers. Only, these people were not afraid of them. While standing on a rock, at the tree line, I could see a little boy approaching and leading a brown bear. Everything looked so peaceful and quiet. Even I felt differently. Suddenly, I felt a pounding on my chest ... so hard that it took my breath. Opening my eyes, above me knelt Billy and Dave. I started coughing and told Billy to stop or he would break my ribs. "It took you guys long enough to find me. How long have I been out?" Billy answered, "Oh, about four hours." "I'm glad you found me. But, I wished you had left me where I was." "What do you mean?" Billy asked. "I was in a better place than here. At least, I was not hurting. You see guys, 'til you found me, I was on this island far away. I WAS IN THE VALLEY OF PEACE."

© 2003 by Robert H. Gilbert, Jr. Story,Poetry,Page

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