Maggie's Farm

Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life.

Thanks to Mario Vittone for this excellent post that everybody ought to read (h/t, reader).

Another good one from Mario: Going Fishing? No You’re Not.  Every time you leave shore, you leave safety and, however relaxing and fun it may be, you are entering a dangerous environment on a contraption which is floating at the moment, but wants to sink. If there were no bit of adventure to boating, nobody would do it without getting paid.

It's not that the water wants to kill you but, as a reader commented elsewhere, "Nature doesn't care."

Last I heard, commercial fishing is the most dangerous occupation in America, and unwatched swimming pools are death traps for little kids. I know a couple whose 3 year-old drowned during their poolside cocktail party. Fifty people there, and nobody noticed the little kid slip under.