Lessons learned on day at pool

We were swimming the other day when Karson, 9, asked me a tough question: How did they ever come up with such a silly word as "swim"?

"That sounds funny," she said. "Swim. Swim. Swiiiiim! Where did it come from, Papa?"

"I don't know."

Her jaw fell.

"But Papa, I thought you knew everything ."

My heart stopped several years too early. Children think their parents are clueless but assume their grandparents have been around long enough to have mastered the universe.

Although I've never tried to lead the kids on, I certainly haven't hinted that I was not omniscient. They have plenty of time to learn the truth.

I recovered quickly.

"I'm not sure -- but I do know where to find out," I assured her.

I turned to a man named Webster: "Swim" trickled down to us, the dictionary says, in various stages of evolution from European mouths; all of them involve the concept of "to move vigorously" or "to be in motion."

The entry listed the past tense, "swam," and the past participle, "swum," which took my thoughts off the dictionary and back to grade school. Miss Forester had taught us to say, "I swim today, I swam yesterday, I have swum all my life." I don't think the rule has changed, but nowadays many people say "I swum yesterday" or "I have swam all day."

Back at the pool, I was going to ask Karson whether she knew what "swum" meant, but she had wandered off and her brother Camden, 6, was developing his aquatic skills.

The lesson at hand was to teach him to swim underwater across the width of the pool, 16 feet. He couldn't do it, coming up short after 12 feet.

"I'll give you a dollar," I said in a weak moment, "if you can make it all the way across."

Quicker than you can say "Jacques Cousteau," he submerged, kicked off and shot across the pool underwater. I was amazed -- and a dollar poorer. He seemed just as impressed and, suddenly emboldened, repeated the trip 11 more times.

I then made a hollow offer.

"If you can swim the length of the pool underwater, I'll give you $5," I said. There was no way.

Like Flipper chasing a shark, Camden ducked down and resurfaced 32 feet later.

"How did you do that?" I gasped, grateful I had not offered him $20 instead.

"I don't know, Papa. Are you going to put me in the newspaper?"

"Never!" I said.

We all learned something that day. Karson found out the derivation of "swim." Camden mastered his underwater skills. And I learned -- $6 too late -- never to bet with children.

Reach Glynn Moore at (706) 823-3419 or glynn.moore@augustachronicle.com.