Lost in the Umpqua River

I just read on the news that a young man is lost on the Umpqua River. That reminded me of a time, back in college, that I almost died on the Umpqua River. I was with my girl friends and we decided to go tubing. I don't know how to swim. I can doggie paddle and float, but I can't have my head go under water, or I drown. Seriously, I have almost drowned in the shower. Anyway, on this fated trip, I decided to not put on my life jacket. Instead, I tied it to the inner-tube. We each sat in our tube with our feet hanging over and went down the fast flowing river. It was a lot of fun. I actually really love rivers. Well I hit a little rapid and my body fell down through the tube. The problem was that my legs didn't make it all the way down. They were stuck in the middle of the tube between my knees and feet. Perfectly wedged in the hole. So I was trapped! It probably all took two seconds in reality, but I felt like I would certainly die. And my parents would be so disappointed in me for not wearing the life jacket. After I panicked, I reached up and pulled my legs free and was able to come up for air. My friends were shocked to see me fall through the tube, but they were too far ahead to help me anyway.

The moral of the story is to wear your life jacket and don't get lost.