A Twist of Fate

When I was a senior in high school, I thought I had it all figured out. I wanted to be a bank teller or a stewardess. I’ve always had a problem with my weight and thought it would be more difficult to be a stewardess. I’d heard they were strict and didn’t allow anyone overweight. So I was leaning toward a bank teller. I’d been fighting with my father and brother a lot and was looking forward to graduating and moving to Tallahassee to attend the university there.

Less than two months before graduation something happened that changed my life forever. My dad was attending the university in our town, trying to finally finish his bachelor’s degree. He had decided he wanted to be a math teacher and that was his major. The school was throwing a party at the beach, but my dad didn’t want to go by himself. My sister was away at college, my brother was hardly ever home, and my mom had to work. That left me, but I didn’t want to go. They finally convinced me by promising to buy me a new bathing suit for the party.

Dad woke me the next morning, and I got out of bed groaning. The party started pretty early, and we didn’t live near the beach. I remember getting into a fight with my dad on the way. It was a stupid fight that wouldn’t normally have made a long term memory, but everything that day made an impression. We made it to the beach, and he introduced me to his friends. I was surprised how many young women he was friendly with, and I was relieved I had girls near my own age to talk to.

We might have spent the whole day just talking, eating and drinking, since it was a chilly March day. I don’t think any of us had any intention of going into the water. That is until a guy in a wet suit walked by, holding a surf board, and telling us how wonderful the water was. Two of the other girls decided it was a great idea to go swimming, and they convinced me to go with them. We headed for the shore, stripped off our clothes down to our bathing suits and headed for the surf. It was COLD! I’m still not sure why I didn’t turn around and go back.

The three of us stepped in to our waists and shivered. It did get better as we got used to the temperature, but before I knew it we were over our heads. The waves got worse and kept slapping against us. I was starting to get tired, and tried to head back to shore, but we kept going out deeper. I noticed my dad on the shore, waving at us to come back. I shouted that we couldn’t and screamed for help.

I can’t really go too much into detail about what happened next, but that’s the last time I saw my father alive. Apparently, he found a piece of the boardwalk and came out in the water after us. One of the waves must have smacked the board into his forehead and knocked him unconscious. Of course, I didn’t realize this until later, when the rescue boat found him and brought him to shore. A stranger on a raft rescued me. No one else but my dad died that day.

Yes, my whole life changed that day. Up until then I refused to wear a seatbelt, but when I got into my dad’s car to be driven to the hospital, that is the first thing I did. I never get into a car to this day without first fastening that seatbelt. Why? Because my dad wanted us all to be safe, and he kept insisting that I do it. It was a battle…until he died.

I also didn’t move away to attend Florida State University. I stayed at home and went to the local college. I never became a bank teller or a stewardess. I ended up following in my dad’s footsteps and joining the Navy. I then went back home years later and got my bachelor’s degree from the university where my dad was attending when he died.

Who knows how my life would have turned out had we not gone to that beach, or if I had merely stayed at the party with my dad. It’s hard for me to think back and remember that day, and what I might have done differently. I’ve been living without my dad longer than I knew him, but I still miss him and wonder if he would be proud of the life I’ve led.