President, Senior Scribes
Buddies
By Delbert Blickenstaff, M.D. 

Wow!  This is the nicest place to live.  It’s warm and I can swim around anytime I want to or just float.  It’s getting a little crowded though.  Something poked me in the back.  I know it wasn’t my arm or leg (I named them in order to keep track of them.)  I’m beginning to think that there is another creature in this swimming pool with me.  I’m going to find out. 

There, I caught part of it in my fist.  That’s the far end of my arm.  I can move it around and it seems to have arms and legs too.  And a head.  That’s the big part on top.  It’s just like me.  I have a buddy!  I wonder if there are any others.  It’s so dark in here that I can’t see. 

I’m going to play a game with my buddy.  I’m going to give him a poke in his back and see what he does.  There.  Wow!  He poked me back.  Now I’ll try two pokes.  There.  He gave me two pokes back.  This is a fun game. 

Did you hear that?  There is a humming noise going on outside our swimming pool.  We always hear gurgling noises, but this is different.  The humming has different pitches, and there seems to be a rhythm to it.  I wonder what it is.  I wonder if Buddy hears it.  I wish I could talk to him. 

Now it’s really getting crowded in here.  It’s harder to move around and that big rope fastened to my belly slows me down.  I’ve noticed that Buddy is getting bigger too.  What will happen if we get too big? 

Now what’s happening?  The walls of our swimming pool are pushing against us.  That doesn’t feel good.  Now it’s happening again.  I don’t like this.  If these walls keep pressing on us we might get hurt.  The pressure keeps getting stronger and I’m afraid.  I wonder if Buddy is afraid.  Now there is a long hard pressure and Buddy seems to be moving away from me.  The warm water is leaving too.  Where are you going Buddy?  I don’t want to stay here by myself.  Now I’m being squeezed out too, but I don’t know where.  And I can’t breathe.  Wham!  Something smacked me on my behind.  Now I’m really scared.  And I still can’t breathe.  Wham!  Another smack.  WHAAAAAA!  Wow!  That did it and I can breathe.  WHAAAAAAA!  I’m going to make as much noise as I can. 

I don’t know where in the world I am but it’s sure different than the swimming pool.  Some huge hands have dried me off and put a warm cover over me.  It’s not so bad after all.  I wonder where Buddy is.  Whaaaaaaaa.  That noise wasn’t me.  It must be Buddy.  That’s wonderful if we could both be in the same place.  We’ve spent our whole lives together.  I’ll be glad when I can see him.  Now I’m beginning to get hungry. 

Delbert Blickenstaff, M. D.