When did completing your bucket list become popular?
Until I retired, I don’t remember doing something and checking it off a list, other than the day-to-day lugubrious chores: grocery, laundry, vacuum, etc. Check, check, check.
This past Sunday it all changed after I swam under the Blue Water Bridge. Had I just completed something on my bucket list? CHECK!
It was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. I was nervous as I stepped into the water, a balmy 75 degrees. Just as we left Lighthouse Beach, a freighter was in our path. It was the unsanctioned annual float down, so boat traffic was supposed to be suspended. Apparently, this lake captain missed the memo.
The next hurdle was the chop. It was a south wind, and the waves in the river were big. Every time I tried to sight, all I could see was a wave. The turquoise water wrapped around me. I was swallowing water as the waves washed over me, but it was too late to turn back. I was in it.
My swimming partner, Sheila Fitzgerald, arrived from the UK the night before, just to do this swim with me, although seeing the freighter had caused trepidation for both of us.
I followed the other swimmers out to the middle of the channel, and after half a mile, we were at the bridge.
The current was swift. I stopped swimming and simply floated under the two bridges, whooping to hear the echo, in the middle of the river, my body bouncing over the waves. It was a thrilling, delightful, inspirational experience. One I will always cherish.
The St. Clair River is a remarkably swift and powerful current, moving an immense volume of water. We were swimming at an unprecedented pace, about 500 yards every four minutes.
If I had done this with boat traffic, I wouldn’t have been able to swim in the middle of the channel, nor under the middle of the bridges. Chris Totten, the organizer and teammate from last year's Edmund Fitzgerald swim, monitored us for the first mile.
The other swimmers pulled ahead, not interested in the monumental experience of swimming under the Blue Water Bridge. But Sheila understood the magnitude of what we were doing and floated along with me. It was an honor to share this experience with the daughter of my mom, Zott’s best friend, Jean. I felt their presence, unsure if we were courageous or stupid.
Sheila and I had been cast together throughout our childhood, but the bond between us grew through swimming. She introduced me to it last year, for the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim, for which I will be forever indebted to her. I was going through a dreadful breakup, and swimming kept me focused and out of my own way.
The other swimmers were competing to see who could swim to Marysville the fastest, so they left us in the surf.
Sheila and I were alone. It was eerie, out in the channel of the St. Clair River, with no one else around us, just two swimmers challenging themselves in the tumultuous river. I wasn’t fearful of the grand expanse of the water, but it was unnerving being the only two people swimming in that vastness.
Beach Buds Marsha and Betsy followed us on land to the City Building. They told me over a drink later that they could hear everything we were saying to each other in the channel, hundreds of yards from shore. We used landmarks to pause and check in with each other on our journey.
We glided down, pacing ourselves. We swam south to the River Walk, about 2.5 miles from Lighthouse Park. I was relieved we didn’t swim all the way to Marysville. The south wind gave us a good fight, tossing us around, but we seized the day and swam to shore.
While making plans to do this again next year, I realized I had to quit thinking about my goals as finite. Life isn’t a bucket list. We have limited chances to challenge ourselves, so I have made a new checklist:
Did I laugh today?
Did I show appreciation to those I love?
Did I do something fun?
Did I hug my dog?
Did I say hello to strangers?
This list could be long, but you’ve got the idea. I will no longer refer to it as my bucket list. It is my Living List. I hope you make your own Living List.
— Sally
PS: The next Float Down is scheduled for August 15, 2027. Sheila and I are going to swim it again, this time to Marysville. I hope you consider joining me on this grand adventure.
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