Sunshine and Ice

Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 6:45 pm

At the end of a long, dark and bitter winter the cadets of Kemper were sick and tired of the biting north winds and the unending ice and snow it carried with it. The chill would defy any uniform and tear into our flesh without mercy. While we stood in formation the sound of a mass chattering of teeth made me long for the crickets of summer. We spent months looking out of ancient single pane glass windows wondering if the sun would simply get sick of the struggle and refuse to ever rise again. Even the tiny glowing ember of a lit cigarette was welcomed like a campfire and though I never smoked I would grow to love them.

When the seasons change in Missouri it can be slow and peaceful or very abrupt. Weather patterns can swing wildly as one season refuses to move on. But there came a day, a beautiful day, that will go down in my memory as one of the finest that I will ever see. It was a weekend, a Sunday perhaps, and we all popped out of bed without any real responsibilities to distract us. The sun was shining with a few wispy high clouds and a warm spring-like breeze. The whole school piled out of their winter dens, and in true Kemper cadet fashion, took immediate advantage of all the day had to offer. Throwing a Frisbee, sitting in the sun, walking up town or just generally goofing off. I remember seeing a few of the Samoans behind K barracks crowded around a small barbeque grill having a laugh wreathed in sunshine and smoke.

A group of us decided to hike down the train tracks just behind the campus and head towards one of our favorite warm weather hangouts. A few short miles down the tracks there was a farm field with a couple of stock ponds. The owner of the property lived a good distance away and we had the cover of a small hill to hide our activities. On warm days we would swim and lay out on the grass and feel like normal kids. It was discussed and we thought that if the ponds were frozen that we could break a patch of ice on the shore and actually swim. Boys will be boys and we liked doing things that were difficult and dangerous, though often idiotic and pointless, so swimming in ice cold water fit our M.O. We went to the second pond in from the fence, skirting the first, and spent an hour trying to break a hole big enough for us to swim in. We managed to make a small hole that could fit 1 person and found it was only a couple of feet deep. Well, the best laid plans…. So we just sat on the bank and enjoyed the sun and goofed off like everyone else within a few hundred miles of our little piece of heaven. Bruce Hickey, Nathan Wilke, and maybe 5 others including myself enjoyed the peace and freedom of that early warm spring day watching the sun slowly cross the sky.

Late afternoon the shadows were long and there was a chill in the wind marking the end of a wonderful day. We gathered up what little we brought with us and started back towards the tracks. The shortest way to the tracks was to cross both ponds and because the ice was so thick it would be safe for us to cross. The route would take a few minutes off our return time and get us off this farmer’s land much faster. As we got further towards the center of the pond there were a couple of diffuse and distant popping sounds. I looked down and didn’t see any cracks so I assumed that it was an isolated thing and we were still OK. I remember Bruce saying we should spread out a little. I was still looking at the ice so I glanced up and noticed that we were all within a few feet of each other. Humans are social animals and we find comfort in one another’s company so if you introduce a low level of anxiety to a small group of people they will tend to gather and bunch up for security. Bruce repeated his warning but this time it was punctuated by a loud crack. Tiny bubbles under the ice moved very slightly and I could see that the ice in the center of the pond was much thinner than we thought and a feeling of impending doom came over me. It was a true “Oh Sh*t” moment. I looked up from the ice towards Bruce Hickey, and suddenly I was in darkness. The cold water was so shocking I bit my tongue. Every inch of my skin felt like it was being cut with millions of tiny razor blades. I was an accomplished swimmer so being under water was not new to me. I opened my eyes and tried to get my bearings. The water was very murky but I could see the light above me from the waning sun. The first hint of panic came when I discovered that my feet didn’t touch the bottom. Without the assist of a push off from below I pulled towards the surface with my nearly frozen arms. It was painful to move any muscle and my lungs were burning for air. I could hear yelling and splashing from above and behind me. As I approached the surface I could see the ice stretching off in every direction as far as I could see. There was an area of broken ice a few feet away so I headed for it with the last bit of air and strength I had and surfaced at the edge of a large hole. I put an arm up on the ice and tried to pull myself up but it broke under my weight. I pushed forward and repeated the attempt, no joy. I had to get out of the water as I was getting weaker and colder. I kept breaking a path towards the shore until the ice was thick enough to support my weight where I hauled out and clambered to the bank. When I looked back I could see my trail was not the only one. Bruce and one or 2 others helped Nathan from the water and as fast as it happened it was over and we were alive.

It hit me later how lucky we were but it took a good while. We were all soaked through and with the sun setting the temperature plummeted. It was a very long walk back to campus. Walking in silence, the trauma of the moment still too raw. By the time we got to the barracks I was shivering uncontrollably and my sweats were stiff and crusted with ice and made a crackling sound as I walked. The taste of blood still oozing from a small laceration on my tongue slowly filled my mouth and I would spit on the tracks leaving a red trail back to Kemper. The last few hundred yards were the worst but the lights glowing in the barracks windows beckoned us home with a promise of warmth and safety and some chow. I hit the shower like everyone else and after I was clean and warm I headed to the mess hall for some serious hot food. The beautiful day, though tinged with a hefty dose of drama, came to a quiet end.

The story would be told many times for a few days then be put in the memory file to grow dusty and faded over time like all of the others. Whenever I see some poor dog on the news stuck on the ice of some lake or pond I think, “You lucky bastard, at least you have half the town and a bunch of firefighters waving chew bones and warm blankets at you”. I will never forget my time under the ice or how cold I was. All of us were very lucky that day. That beautiful and wonderful and glorious day.

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 7:53 pm

Wow, what a great story. Thanks for sharing.

Laura
PS: God evidently has big plans for you, because you and Nathan are two lucky guys making it thru that.