The photograph swimmers

Holdi the railu

Kicki the water

Swim like a fich.

Mr. Kimaru our swimming teacher taught this mantra to generations of children to help us learn how to swim. Anyone who went to school 10 years before or after me knows this fine teacher. God bless his soul.

This Gentleman taught us how to swim when fully clothed. He was always outside the pool never inside. Much as I try, I can't remember him wearing a swimming costume.It occurred to me how odd that was, seeing as we learned to swim from instruction rather than demonstration.

It allows me to forgive those youth who google -How to swim. And by the way that was one of the top searches by Kenyans in 2014. Why not just visit a swimming pool and learn to swim? (Story for another day).

This fine bright Sunday Angel decides she wants to swim. Begrudgingly, I oblige to her request. As she swims I take time to study the environment around us.

We are about 40 patrons in swimming gear including the children in the baby pool. About 6 of these are swimming instructors and pool minders who have swam until they have no ounce of fat . Actually they look like middle tier fish- you know tilapia, Nile perch the not so large kind of fish- you can count their ribs. The tragedy is they know we are looking at them. Admiring them as we pray that one day the universe would be so kind to allow us look like that.

Another 15 are children including Angel are swimming, playing, struggling in the baby pool trying to master their power against water. Children make friends easily even when wearing costumes so you can hear chatter and laughter from that side. My daughter will occasionally run to me and tell me how she has been able to navigate the deep end in their pool( I open my eyes wide with admiration and congratulate her).

Another group of older children and adults are at the shallow end trying to learn how to swim. Once in a while they catch the pool minder's eye who warn them of moving closer to the deep end or splashing all the water out of the pool(pun intended). Some are satisfied to just stand in the water and walk around.

A group of youngsters are thoroughly enjoying their afternoon. Diving in and out of the pool. They swim under water for a full five minutes or even more without coming up for air. Damn, I enjoy their enthusiasm, fun and youthfulness. I kept thinking that I should join them perhaps they could absorb a number of my years from my age.

The last and more conspicuous were about 10 ladies the size of nano sim cards. For a fact they had not been eating excess fried foods or large portions of ugali & nyamachoma and had taken time to exercise. It is also possible that the universe was extremely generous to them. They are the same fit with the instructors and pool minders described above. They also know it and I could sense the territorial glances and wars going on between the two groups.

The ladies wore stylish bikinis. They also adorned tattoos, naval rings, ankle bands, toe rings, waist bands the works. They also had make up on. They sat right next to the deep end. In fact if you were not keen enough you would have easily have thought they were taking a break from swimming. And how wrong you could have been. They never once immersed themselves in the water. They just lay there and took selfies and photos. Loads and loads of photos from several different angles. The swimming pool always in the background.

I imagined what they wrote when they uploaded the photos on facebook, whatsapp and instagram #swimmingtings #coolwaters #deependswimmers #deependtings.

I thought to myself. Who was the recipient and beneficiary of this charade? Why not just wear the bikini at home and photo shop the background? What joy could you possibly derive from posing next to a pool and then taking a photo?

The end of our generation will be the love we have of our own images and selves (to the point of deception). They call it narcissism.

Sojourner.

P.S If you get a photo of a deep end swimmer, look at it "with a pinch of salt".