Jeff Orenstein writes: “I am happy to report that I crossed the English Channel in 11 hours and 22 minutes. Thank goodness it is over. Other than feeling like a fire truck hit me, I am mostly thinking, wow—did that just happen? And then: I am glad that I’m not swimming the Channel today. Or tomorrow. And likely again. On the up, the sunshine on my back was divine, I had an amazing crew, and the Channel was mostly flat. Interestingly to me, when I switched to a higher-tempo stroke to counter the tide, I could no longer hold a thought nor sing a tune, and the swimming rhythm became meditative, causing a trippy perception of time speeding up, noted from the programmed 30-minute hydration/nutrition feeds, which started to feel like five minutes apart. Making the landing was a lifetime highlight, triggering a euphoric feeling that has yet to leave me—a feeling that all the effort has been rewarded many times. I am hopeful that the story will be retold, by me, my family and friends, well into the future, sitting on a sandy beach, looking into a never-ending blue horizon.”
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Class of 1989