As summer is in full season across the U.S., many adults and children flock to pools and beaches to enjoy the sun and cool off in the water. But for some, not everything is sunshine and butterfly strokes.
Many kids enjoy blissfully playing in the water. Seth Green, age 7, used to be one of those kids.
Green was at his local pool on a Sunday afternoon, swimming with his friends, when he got involved in an incident that would forever change his life. His story is best described in his own words:
“I was just diving underwater and swimming all the way down to try to touch the bottom. Then when I was about to swim back up, all the kids were gone. All I could see was just big legs with no heads appearing all around,” he recollected the terrifying moment. “They were like boring aliens because they weren’t playing Marco Polo or splashing around or anything. I’ve never been more scared in my entire life!”
What Green was referring to is called “adult swim”, a period during which kids are told to get out of the pool so that adults can swim undisturbed by the fun and splashing laughter of joy and innocence.
Some of the adults noticed some bubbles and commotion happening from underwater and grabbed and pulled little Seth out of the water. “He was just screaming and screaming when we pulled him out” said one woman, who asked to be anonymous. “He must not have heard the lifeguard announce that it is adult swim. We sat him down on the edge of the pool and tried to calm him down.”
Upon learning the meaning of adult swim, Seth Green responded, “Adult swim is stupid. I’m never growing up.”