swimming in mexico

It’s hot today so I decide to float in the pool for a while before trekking to the beach. A quick submersion then I lay my torso upon a baby’s float, enough to keep my head out of the water. Suddenly a little black bug swims up to my face. He/she looks like a beetle. I have no idea what it is. It has four little legs, all of which are furiously paddling. I scoop the poor creature into the cup of my hand, swim to the pool’s edge and gently release him or her. He immediately turns around and lets him/herself drop back into the pool. I strike this off to disorientation and scoop him back up and place him a little further from the edge where upon he/she immediately turns around and swims back into the pool. I don’t get it.

Now I know that I tend to exaggerate at times, throw in a few details that didn’t actually occur for the sake of storytelling, (everyone must laugh after all…this I have learned…if you can’t be funny, no one really cares. you can tell the most harrowing of stories so long as you throw in a little humor, but, no exaggeration, I pick up the critter once more and heave him as far as I can (I played 3rd base for years, so no wimp toss) toward the garden. He lands on the branch of a baby palm and I watch as he drops him/herself off the leaf and onto the tiles below. I watch. Carefully. Don’t take my eyes off of him/her as he/she rights (fuck it – it’s a he from this point on…) himself and begins his journey back to the pool. I couldn’t believe it. Do beetles have a brain? Can they think? Is he consciously trying to drown himself and am I disturbing the natural order of things. Why is this beetle trying to get back into the pool? Is he just hot? He’s probably totally bullshit with me at this point! I WANT TO SWIM YOU STUPID HUMAN! IT’S FREAKIN’ HOT OUT HERE! And here he comes, back to edge and once again drops himself in. unbelievable.

I am so taken by this that I jump out of the pool and scurry over to the computer to jot down my findings.

Just thought you might be interested in hearing. Need to get back to the pool now to see if he’s still in there.