Читать книгу Angelic Encounters - Joe Hammond Callihan - Страница 4

Incident at Pass-a-grille Beach, Florida

I have often told people that when I get to Heaven, I will have no trouble identifying my Guardian Angel. He will be the only one there having gray hair, from all of the things I put him through keeping me safe. This beginning story tells why I make such a claim. Also you will note, this is just one of the four times when satan tried taking me out by drowning, and my Guardian Angel interfered with his plan.

It was during the summer of 1959. I had gotten into skin diving from watching the very popular television program, Sea Hunt. In fact I was skin diving before I had learned how to swim. I know, not very “logical” Mr. Spock. Nonetheless, here I was with my family for a day at the beach in Pass-a-grille, Florida. I went about using my mask and fins to dive below the surface, looking for shells and swimming with the fish.

The water at this beach was fairly shallow a good part of the way out. Not knowing as yet how to swim, I chose to carefully stay in water whose depth I could stand up in, without being over my head. As I went along, I spotted a rather unusual looking crevice. It appeared to be carved out, and was about three foot by three foot, wide, high, and deep. It also looked as if it ran for quite some distance.

Curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to investigate what appeared to be a natural phenomenon. Finding the water was only about four feet deep; I took a deep breath and swam down into the crevice to further investigate. Barely had I entered, when along came a strong current known commonly as undertow. It grabbed me, twisting my body around and around, as it swiftly carried me along the length of the crevice. My body would bang from side to side, sometimes hitting the bottom of the crevice. It was as if I were on an underwater rollercoaster ride.

Pretty intense situation, huh? Immediately, a rerun of a Sea Hunt episode began to show in my mind. I remembered how this same thing had happened to Mike Nelson while skin diving. I watched and listened as in his narration he called what was happening, undertow. He went on to explain he chose to ride it out, rather than try to swim out of its grasp. He said this is where many skin divers drown, using up their air and energy trying to escape, when the current’s grip is too strong.

I continued watching Mike Nelson, as the current was rolling me around side to side, and up and down, just as it had done with him. As his narration went on, he said he waited it out, until he felt the current weaken sufficiently to kick out of its grasp. Then as I felt the current weakening, just as Mike had said it would, I heard a voice shout the word “NOW!” At this, I kicked for all I was worth, and escaped from the undertows’ current. Looking back down to where I had started, it looked as if in a minute, I had traveled about two hundred yards.

Now you’d think any sound thinking person would be thankful enough to be glad to have survived this chance at near drowning. But not me! Being literally stupid, I made a joy ride out of it, returning to the beginning spot and twice more riding the current, coming out as I had done before. Much to my guardian angels relief, after the third time my brain finally kicked in and I said enough. I can just see my guardian angel standing before God, pulling his hair out and pleading, “Lord, can You please assign me to someone else? ANYONE ELSE LORD! This guy is a nut!”

Much later in life, as I was recalling this story to a friend, the idea came to me of writing Lloyd Bridges to let him know of how his program had saved my life as a teenager. But unfortunately the day I made this decision was the same day Mr. Bridges passed away. I was sorry I had not done so many years earlier.