Irony

While a 53-year-old man was competing successfully in the swimming section of the National Senior Games in Palo Alto, California, his 61-year-old brother was back home in Madison, Indiana, at the Yacht Club. When the brother called home to his mother to tell her he had just won a 500-yard freestyle, she told him his older brother had just been swept away in the rain-swollen Ohio River and could not be located. The Madison Courier. His body was later found.

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Comments

that is very sad. it's alot easier to swim in a swimming pool than in a rain flooded river.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 08/10/09 at 05:46 PM

I think this kind of goes along with Chuck's story from today about how 10-15 people die in Florida trying to catch lobster, when they could just buy them. The guy that fell in was evidently trying to push debris away from the dock while the waters were still raging and churning, and for what? That couldn't have waited for a calmer time? I have an advantage, I've seen the 'Yacht Club,' which is nothing more than a float dock attached to the shore. You could cut that thing loose and haul in another one from anywhere on the river and never notice. It certainly wasn't anything to be overly concerned with. The dock could probably accomodate five of the average sized boats that ply the waters around here. We drove by there the day after and then a couple days after the guy fell in and still hadn't been found. People were out on the dock, drinking, laughing having a good time, no somber mood at all. I think my good time would've been ruined had someone just disappeared trying to keep the dock clean so I could sit there and drink.

Posted by qualityleashdog on 08/10/09 at 05:57 PM

me too qld. there is no sense trying to clear debris until the waters calm. more stuff just washes up.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 08/10/09 at 06:06 PM

Growing up on the Mighty Mississippi you learn early to respect the river when flowing normally and fear her when in flood.

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 08/10/09 at 11:38 PM

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