Canoeing can be dangerous !
By: Brianna Williams
Canoeing is so fun… You think it is until you go down in the dark cold rage of a river that tries to swallow you whole. You can not breathe your breath gets taken away. Then you see the light you think your fading away.
Last summer I went to my cousin’s canoeing rental business. My dad, my cousin, and my cousin’s parents, my sister, my step mom and I all went to the canoeing place together. My sister and I went on the kayak for about an hour, but we could not move from one spot. It was so hard to paddle in the kayak. Then we tried getting out of it but Becca my sister fell over and she did not even have her swim suit on, so she got soaking wet. Becca and I went back to the camp ground and we had a hotdog for lunch, Becca and I ran around the camp grounds from my little cousin we were hiding in the sheds and behind the trees. Then as the night set in, Becca, Kelsey, and I went looking for wood to make a fire. Once we got all of the wood, we started the fire which took a while to start because we only had the sticks to rub and a lighter. My little cousin started to pour lighter fluid all over it so then the fire started to go. We all roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories. Becca and I shared one huge tent and we split it into rooms it was so cool. Becca and I started to hear howling sounds. We asked, my dad what it was and then he told us there was wolves in the forest that was right beside us. Becca and I decided to share a room and we stayed up all night playing card games, we could not fall a sleep after what he had told us.
The next morning was the morning when we went to canoe all together. I thought it was very fun. My dad ran into a lot of things, so at a shallow place I got off the canoe that my step mom and dad were on, and I got on to the canoe with Becca and my cousin Kelsey. They would not let me have a turn to paddle or anything so I got mad, I got off and went on the canoe with my aunt and uncle. We went really far. (I did not know how far we were going, but we were getting off at the Wild Cat Mountain. That was all that I knew about how far we were going.) We took brakes at little islands; we would drink water and have a snack bar or some cereal from a bag. It was okay though; I did not whine about what we were eating because I love the outdoors, then we kept on canoeing and not to far away from are last stop my sister and cousin started whining and saying they wanted to take a break at this small island that was up the stream we were on. I did not want to stop, I was having too much fun. We had to wait to keep going because some cliff divers we jumping off a cliff near us. It was really neat to see them splash in the water and then come up and scream. I did not get what they enjoyed about jumping off a scary high place, and into water that could fill your lungs in an instant. As soon as they all jumped, we started to paddle again we got to the island. I was in a canoe with my dad (that is blind) and my step dad we were the last to get out. We were next to this cliff and the water looked black and scary. My dad is blind so he could not tell how deep it was, he asked the college kids and they said it was a good place to get off at. We all jumped on three, all I remember was the thought I was going to die, it was black every where I could not see but I could hear my dad scream my name. I tried to swim but I just kept on going down. Finally I was able to escape the darkness from the river and found my self under a canoe. I crawled to the island chocking and almost gagging. Everything was blurry and people were around me, I did not cry I was just in pain my side hurt and so did my arm because I cut it on my way up. When everything became clear I began to cry, but I did not know why I was crying until I saw the water I had a fear of stepping foot back in to it. I knew we were going to have to in about five more minutes. After I got the strength to get back in to the canoe and we paddled back to land we got the about an hour or two later we all paddled in silence. Then I thought to myself I was luck you should not cry be happy that you survived.
Not even a year later my best friend drowned. I though wow I remember when that almost happened to me and how scary and painful it was. Well he had to suffer all the way tell the end, until his arms gave out, until he could not find the light like I did. That gave me night mares for a while. Drowning is a sick death that nature provided to help with as the hard currents, or the seaweed, the rocks sticks and stones. That blocked him for the light that he will never see again.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 19.04.2011

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