The Drowning: The Outcome Was Inevitable

The outcome was devastating but inevitable. David Johnson had been obsessed with the water since he was a young boy. When he, his younger brother Robbie, and his sister Carol stayed with their grandma Dani in the county, she warned them not to swim in local creeks and ponds.

Her go-to statement was "You're not going to drown on my watch." When the brothers were 12 and 13, they began sneaking out and swimming with their friends. There was a water tower on a nearby mountain with a whirlpool nearby, and this was their favorite spot.

The Danger and No Trespassing signs that Carol learned about after the tragedy did not deter the young boys. There were also several creeks the locals frequented.

Carol never learned to swim and was not fond of the water. She did not need her grandma's warnings to stay away from local water holes. Her siblings were different.

The brothers were careful after getting in the water to allow their wet clothes to dry outside in the sun so Grandma would not find out. This was sneaky, and Carol had a feeling it would backfire one day,

As they aged, the boys became sloppy and would leave wet clothes on the back porch. David, at times, went swimming without Robbie. It was as if he were obsessed. Once at summer camp, he had to be threatened because he would keep swimming long after the lifeguard shouted, "Everybody out!"

Carol never snitched, but she laughed when Grandma Dani caught them lying about swimming and asked her to get some switches so she could whip the boys. Robbie and David often said their sister broke the biggest switches from the bush.

When they were 14, 15, and 16, the teens went on a church picnic to Fairy Stone Park near Martinsville, Virginia. Carol was sitting on the grass as her siblings and others were in the water.

Suddenly, Grandma Dani came stomping down the beach with a large switch in her hand. Someone had alerted her that her grandsons were swimming, and she was angry.

Carol watched as her grandmother stepped into the water up to her knees and yelled for David and Robbie to come out. Everyone laughed as she hit them over and over with the switch and yelled, "You're not going to drown on my watch."

Carol was in tears as she pleaded with Grandma Dani to stop humiliating her brothers. Robbie and David were crying too. At home, their grandmother shouted at them to stay out of the water because they were not going to drown on her watch,

Of course, they did not listen and became more creative at drying their clothes so grandma would not suspect. Time went on, and David's obsession with the water continued. He swam every chance he got, even sneaking into hotel pools.

Even after he married, David continued swimming with friends and excluding his spouse, Lena. Grandma Dani had, on occasion, warned her grandson to keep away from bad company and continued her warning to be careful in the water. Carol felt like her grandmother was saying, "You will drown one day, but it won't be while I'm watching you".

At this time in their early 30s, Robbie and David had begun fighting. The younger sibling began warning family members that his older brother was out of control. He said something bad was going to happen to David, and no one could stop it.

Rumors began that their brother had lost a job because drugs or alcohol had been involved. Her mother said David had at least two court dates for DUI's, and she could feel something bad was about to happen to him. Mom said if God did not intervene, David would kill himself or someone else.

David's life was spinning out of control, and his wife finally put him out. The last time Carol saw him, she noticed a heavenly glow around her brother. He was sitting at the table at their mother's house, and at first she thought he was sweating.

Carol could sense that her brother was feeling stressed, and he appeared to be tired. A strong feeling of unrest took hold of her, and she wanted to hug her sibling and cry, but did not know why.

She felt strongly that some tragedy was inevitable, and she would not be able to stop it. As she looked at him, she recalled a television show where a little girl would look at people and say "Goodbye, goodbye," and they would later die.

One Friday night, two weeks later, the situation took a bad turn. According to his wife, David made plans to watch videos with her and their three children. Around 6:00 p.m., Lena says he told her he would be there in about 30 minutes, but he never made it.

At 5:00 a.m., Carol answered her phone to hear Lena sobbing as she announced, "David is dead." Carol was in shock as she listened to what had happened.

Her brother had been at a local lake in the dark, where there was no lifeguard. He was accompanied by two guys and two girls, who he had recently met and no one in the family knew. David had gone alone into deep water and been swimming for about 10 minutes when he began yelling for help.

None of his acquaintances could help him because they could not swim. What made them ride with David to the beach, and why did he go at night when there was no lifeguard? It was as if the water had been calling him to his fate.

Foul play was suspected with people saying the new friends had killed him, but this could not be proven. Some asked if drugs and alcohol had been involved, or if he may have chosen to die, but no answer came.

Carol stood with her husband, sister-in-law, and mother, looking at her brother's body as the funeral home attendant asked if everything was to their satisfaction.

She could barely hear a sound because this was so surreal. Her mind was exploding because her brother was dead at 34, and it could have been avoided.

He should have been with his wife and children and never been involved with these new friends. What was really nagging her was how it all seemed destined.

Mom had said David was going to kill himself or someone else. Grandma Dani warned about drowning for 29 years, and Carol had seen that heavenly glow and recalled the little girl saying "goodbye."

Carol realized that she had been saying goodbye to David Johnson that day, at her mother's house. And he had taken a life, his own. Most profoundly, her brother had drowned, but it was not on their grandmother's watch. Her brother's life had a predictable ending. Everything leading to it seemed unavoidable, predestined, and inevitable.