CHAPTER 13

Karl’s Dive

We’re not held back by what we don’t have, but by what we

don’t use.

Karl was like most other kids in high school. He loved sports, and he

was good at them too. But he liked mischief even more, and he was even
better at that. He and his friends would stare at the calendar, wishing their
way through the spring to the summer and the chance to run wild
together. Karl had a contagious charm and would quietly and
unintentionally command the room when he bounced through the door.
He was handsome, he was smart, and he had a well-earned reputation as a
jokester. The next prank was always just around the corner for Karl and
his buddies.
Some people can juggle. Others can tie a cherry stem in a knot with
their tongue. Karl could hold his breath like a dolphin. He grew up on a
lake in Illinois and would practice sinking in the water with his arms
spread wide, no doubt hoping to score a rescue attempt and perhaps some
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from the cute girl who was the lifeguard on
duty. It never really happened, but just the possibility made all the
practice worth it.
Each year, Karl and his buddies would head to a couple of lakes in
Wisconsin for their summer adventures. They would float through the
lazy summer days swimming, sailing, skipping rocks, and meeting the
occasional girl or two who were also on vacation. Meeting girls, of
course, trumped all the Huckleberry Finn stuff.
One day, Karl was at a friend’s house and saw two girls from his high