Swimming...

So, growing up my cousins and my family used to go to the pool every day in the summer. Some of my greatest memories. We'd walk to Alta Canyon and spend every possible minute allowed at the pool.
This didn't totally change when we got older. Nearly every Saturday, as many as could make it would meet at Cottonwood Heights to swim. This pool was bigger with platforms to jump off of, and slides to race down.
I have a slight fear of heights, so if I were to jump off a platform I'd pretty much stick to the bottom of the three terrors. I'd watch people like my brother do trick after trick off the other levels. Nolan every time, would do a gainer off the third platform, and then get in trouble because you're only supposed to just jump straight off. Every time, he'd act surprised as though no one had told him that every saturday of every summer.
One day we were all lounging gettin our tan on and I was talking about how I didn't dare jump off the third platform, and out came the dares.
It started off with one person just daring me to do it. The next offering a couple bucks if I did and then another person offering. It got to be about $20 in total if I were to jump off, so I took the dare.
I took the walk over to the platform, the whole time looking at how high it was, I swear the closer I got the higher it got. I started the ascent to the top, my breath getting shorter the higher I got, I'm quite certain it's comparable to Everest, there just isn't as much oxygen that high up.
I make it to the platform, there are a couple of kids in front of me and I less-than-pateintly wait my turn.
The two other kids jump, with screams to join them down. I have to wait for the lifeguard to hold up three fingers to let me know it's my turn to go. I pray that it will never happen. The time comes, the fingers come up. I walk right off the edge. I didn't even look down to my watery grave just walked off the edge.
As I'm floating down I realize, this isn't that bad, it wasn't THAT high, I could do it again even not being dared.
Twas then that my feet hit the water. Let it be known, falling at that velocity, it's important that you tighten your body when you make contact with the water. Flex every muscle so you stay in a uniform line. No one shared this information with me... I continue. My feet hit the water and as though my ankles were tied to two sports cars that drove off in opposite directions I did the splits so dang fast my legs nearly ripped from my body.
I let my body float to the top of the water as the thought of using my legs hurt my heart.
I swim to the side of the pool and climb out to waddle back over to my challengers to at LEAST get the $20 that was hardly worth what I just went through. I lay down sure that my groin will never heal, request my money just to hear, "Oh well I don't have it with me, but I'll get it to you." I never got that money.