for Sebbie
Sebbie, Thanks for the thoughtful analysis. I am flattered that you took the time to think through how I might be reflecting myself in my character Jimmy. Actually, I was more like Greg than Jimmy as a kid. I started swimming at a very early age, was on a YMCA team at age 6 or 7, as I remember, which is when I also had my first swim team swimsuit, a blue with white stripe nylon suit. Lycra wasn't really around yet (not until I got into what was then called Junior high). By age 9 or 10, someone figured out I actually was really good at swimming. I was never destined for the Olympics, but I did end up with six colleges interested in me and swam scholarship for a D1 (NCAA's top level) program down in the Southeastern/ Mid Atlantic US. Too bad they dropped men's swimming back in the 1990's and nothing remains of the old program. They even tore down the old pool building (and the totally amazing pool) to make way for a classroom building.
Neither Greg nor Jimmy were patterned after me, but both are patterned after real people. By the way, my early stories in first person writing are closely patterned after my real life (the ones with Zach and Ryan as the main characters... I am the Ryan). I was a very athletic kid. My only challenge was my sexual orientation, but my friends in school and on my swim team and the folks in my hometown region of Northern Maine were very accepting and remain so today.
STS
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