Downstream

look surprised and ask if I
feel ill. But instead the man
says thoughtfully, ‘I’ve got a
wetsuit in the attic; I haven’t
put it on for years. I used to
love open-water swimming
when I was younger. I
wonder why I don’t do it any
more.’
I wonder this as well;
perhaps somewhere along the
line I lost my love of open-
water swimming, too,
influenced by fears of dirty,