I Haven't Been in the Water Yet

It’s nearly June and I haven’t been in the water yet.

There was a time I never would have let that happen.

On the news yesterday I saw it was supposed to be 95 degrees in Paducah, Ky. I used to work at a marina near there, and when it was that hot I would start my day in the water, cooling off with a dip before opening the bait shop at first light.

By now I would have been swimming for a month already. My friends and I also made it a point to start skiing in April, the water still cold enough to give us ice cream headaches if we fell.

My wife, Barb, who grew up on Hebgen Lake and likes to one-...