Eddy (EDD-ee)

What It Means - An eddy is a current of water or air running contrary to the main current, especially as a whirlpool. In figurative use, eddy may also refer to a contrary or circular current of thought or policy.

// The strong gusts whipped up eddies of fallen leaves.

// They were caught up in the eddies of chaos.

When my children were small and we would swim in Lake Superior, my husband took them to the beach. It was Lake Superior. Or as my people called it Gichigami or great sea.

One day when swimming they were caught in an Eddy that took them out further than they could swim back from. My husband who was a strong swimmer worked to get them back to shore one at a time and that just didn't work as they were caught up in an Eddy.

He then grabbed both of them and together they made their way back to shore with him touching the bottom and forcing himself and them toward shore.

They made it back to shore and everything was okay. The kids thought it was fun and didn't realize what danger they were in. My husband who had swam there for many years had never been so frightened in his life. Being responsible for two children in the great sea alone.

After that experience, I didn't want them to swim there, but they did. I made sure they knew just how dangerous it could be. And I wouldn't let them go without me again. That was the rule. No going without enough people to save your lives if need be.

Currents, Waves or Tides - Rip currents are strong, narrow, seaward flows of water that extend from close to the shoreline to outside of the surf zone. They are found on almost any beach with breaking waves and act as “rivers of the sea,” Smithsonian Ocean

We just completed fall as there is now snow on the ground and it is snowing today. It is possible to get into strong winds that blow the snow around in a similar fashion to how the leaves will be blown around in circles and moved from your leaf pile to where you may have just raked.

In much the same way, we only recently completed the election and politics has been a series of eddies with many caught up in the eddies of chaos. Enough said about that.