Swimming lessons a real life-saver for Lawton man
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, May 15, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- As Eric Ricke swam to save a man from drowning, his thoughts turned to lessons learned 25 years ago in Remsen, Iowa.
"As you swim out there you have a million things going through your mind, like don't let him pull you down," said Ricke, 35.
He remembered that instruction from his teachers when he took summer swimming lessons in Remsen as a boy.
Ricke, a financial adviser for Edward Jones Investments in Sioux City, was one of 80 Jones brokers treated to a week of all-you-can-eat/all-you-can-drink fun in the sun in the Bahamas in March.
Many in the group took a boat to a private island a couple of those days. Ricke was along the day a man in the ocean cried for help beneath the early-afternoon sun.
"I was back away from the beach having a toddy with some guys and we heard a commotion," Ricke remembered. "People on the beach said there was a guy in the water who needed help."
Ricke sprinted across the beach, scanning the sand for a life preserver or a lifeguard. He found neither. So, he dived in and swam to the man who was waving his arms atop the waves.
As he approached, Ricke told him, "Don't grab me. I'll swim around behind you and I'll grab you to keep you up."
The man did just as his rescuer asked.
"Even now when I talk about it, it shakes me a bit," said Darrell Burns of Sheldon, Iowa, another Edward Jones financial adviser. Burns saw it all transpire from the beach.
"There was no way I was going to be able help that guy. He was in trouble," he said.
A crowd watched as Ricke grabbed the man's trunks and lifted as he swam slowly toward shore. A minute or so later two more men arrived. Together, the three rolled the man to his back and pulled him to shore. The man had suffered leg cramps while swimming and was about to go under when Ricke arrived.
Ricke rested on the beach after the episode, grateful for his Remsen swimming lessons and for remaining active as an adult. The father of four from Lawton often spends summers catching his children as they jump off the diving board. His ability to swim and tread water served him well, as well as a man whose name he can't recall.
"He's from Ohio," said Ricke. "But he wasn't with our group. He was just vacationing. He was very grateful. His wife saw me later that night and gave me the best hug I've ever gotten."
Why? Her hug came straight from the heart.
"She was crying and thanking me for saving her husband," Ricke said.
"Not many people would do it," Burns added. "It was quite a heroic deal."
Ricke returned to Siouxland, went back to work and is now keeping busy coaching his children in baseball. He hasn't been in the water since his trip to the Bahamas. So, no, he hasn't pulled a drowning man from any raging waters.
"Not in Iowa," he said with a laugh. "I'm waiting for it to quit snowing before I think about swimming."
It does surprise him he acted so quickly. And he's shocked how his past swimming instruction gave another man a life-line.
It might be instructive for parents who are now about to register their children for summer swimming lessons.
"It's amazing the things you do remember from 25 years ago," Ricke said. "I guess the old lessons paid off."
"As you swim out there you have a million things going through your mind, like don't let him pull you down," said Ricke, 35.
He remembered that instruction from his teachers when he took summer swimming lessons in Remsen as a boy.
Ricke, a financial adviser for Edward Jones Investments in Sioux City, was one of 80 Jones brokers treated to a week of all-you-can-eat/all-you-can-drink fun in the sun in the Bahamas in March.
Many in the group took a boat to a private island a couple of those days. Ricke was along the day a man in the ocean cried for help beneath the early-afternoon sun.
"I was back away from the beach having a toddy with some guys and we heard a commotion," Ricke remembered. "People on the beach said there was a guy in the water who needed help."
Ricke sprinted across the beach, scanning the sand for a life preserver or a lifeguard. He found neither. So, he dived in and swam to the man who was waving his arms atop the waves.
As he approached, Ricke told him, "Don't grab me. I'll swim around behind you and I'll grab you to keep you up."
The man did just as his rescuer asked.
"Even now when I talk about it, it shakes me a bit," said Darrell Burns of Sheldon, Iowa, another Edward Jones financial adviser. Burns saw it all transpire from the beach.
"There was no way I was going to be able help that guy. He was in trouble," he said.
A crowd watched as Ricke grabbed the man's trunks and lifted as he swam slowly toward shore. A minute or so later two more men arrived. Together, the three rolled the man to his back and pulled him to shore. The man had suffered leg cramps while swimming and was about to go under when Ricke arrived.
Ricke rested on the beach after the episode, grateful for his Remsen swimming lessons and for remaining active as an adult. The father of four from Lawton often spends summers catching his children as they jump off the diving board. His ability to swim and tread water served him well, as well as a man whose name he can't recall.
"He's from Ohio," said Ricke. "But he wasn't with our group. He was just vacationing. He was very grateful. His wife saw me later that night and gave me the best hug I've ever gotten."
Why? Her hug came straight from the heart.
"She was crying and thanking me for saving her husband," Ricke said.
"Not many people would do it," Burns added. "It was quite a heroic deal."
Ricke returned to Siouxland, went back to work and is now keeping busy coaching his children in baseball. He hasn't been in the water since his trip to the Bahamas. So, no, he hasn't pulled a drowning man from any raging waters.
"Not in Iowa," he said with a laugh. "I'm waiting for it to quit snowing before I think about swimming."
It does surprise him he acted so quickly. And he's shocked how his past swimming instruction gave another man a life-line.
It might be instructive for parents who are now about to register their children for summer swimming lessons.
"It's amazing the things you do remember from 25 years ago," Ricke said. "I guess the old lessons paid off."
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