At 71, I bought a senior pool pass, rolled onto my back, and finally faced the day nobody noticed I was drowning.

At summer camp in 1964, I slipped off the shallow ledge during free swim.

There were whistles blowing, kids shrieking, counselors laughing with each other.

I remember swallowing water.

I remember clawing at nothing.

I remember seeing faces turned the wrong way.

A boy finally screamed that I was under.

Someone pulled me out.

What stayed with me was not just the fear.

It was the lesson.

You can disappear in a crowd and still nobody sees.