The Willamette River runs all the way up the valley, from Eugene to Portland, and finally empties into the might Columbia River near Portland. It is one of the few rivers in America that runs from south to north. The cold waters of the Mckenzie river pour cold, clear mountain waters off the Cascade range, right near Eugene.
The whole town of Eugene is crisscrossed with bicycle paths, and near the university there is a little bridge for bikes and runners and pedestrians that crosses right over the river.
There are a lot of places to go swimming or rafting and ride the white water. If you're crazy enough, you can do both, without a boat. One hot day during summer school, Jim and his best friend Jerry, and a couple of girls they knew, took a picnic to the big rocks at the river at the foot bridge.
That's where you can sit on the the rocks and warm up, and jump off the bridge into the water and ride the rapids with your body. A lot of students at the university like to congregate there, and party a litlle and relax from the routine of studying and exams.
The friends were enjoying the pristine beauty of the hot summer day. Back in the day, Oregon was one of the more famous places in the country to find really potent pot for cheap. The friends were smoking and working up their courage for a ride down the rapids.
Jerry was a big guy and starting feeling the heat of the early afternoon sun first. He walked back over the rocks, and climbed up on the footbridge. He jumped feet first into the water, carefully lining up in the current to drift into the whitewater chute of water that shoots between a channel of rocks. Near the head of the rapids, Jerry paddles hard, floating on his back, keeping his feet down river and up high in the water - and hits the whitewater shoot - and disappears.
The ride should last a few seconds, but Jerry is no where in sight. Immediately, Jim is searching his brain for the lifesaving training he received at scout camp - oh my God - try to reach, or throw to the victim - then row, finally - go. No boat. Dangerous to jump in. No rope. Jim scours the bank for - a long stick that has washed down from the forests upstream, left up high on the bank by the spring floods.
He runs to the chute, and drags the long stick upstream, in the center of the channel, until it strikes something hard - if feels like metal. Jim pulls the stick over the metal object, and turns the stick at a hard angle and yanks on the object. It moves a little, feels like it is impaled on the stick. The girls are yelling, he motions them over and everyone drags the stick downriver, with the current, and the object comes free. With it, Jerry's head and shoulders pop up through the white water, he gasps for air, and goes floating downstream a little to the calm, shallow water, dragging the object, which is a bicycle that someone must have taken for a joy ride from the univerisity - and thrown over the bridge.
Jim and Jerry, exhausted, a slapping each other on the back and laughing. Almost lost you guys there. Its dark under the water. I kept thinking, this is it, this is how it ends, stoned and pinned under the river.
That night, the guys are still shaking a little and talking. Jim says, it gives you new respect for life. That river is dangerous. I don't think I'll be jumping off the footbridge into the rapids any more. Get a boat. There are a lot of things I want to do in my life. I don't think I'm going to be getting stoned a lot, either. I want clarity. I have new respect for the river, you're my friend, I almost lost you. I want to see what I can accomplish, it makes you grow up a little and see that each day is a gift. Me too.
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