shocking story for U.S. sports fans of my age group

Former Atlanta Hawks star Dan Roundfield has drowned in Aruba. The story is HERE. Roundfield was one of the more formidable NBA players during the first years of the 1980’s, and was 59 years old at the time of his death.

But it’s the details of the story itself that are especially disturbing. They’d been to this particular beach, a harmless one, many times in the past, and Roundfield and his wife simply were caught in a strong current. His wife survived.

Something similar happened to me four years ago, in the Andaman Islands (part of India, though extremely far east of the Indian mainland). I was at a perfectly harmless beach, went out not so far (perhaps neck-deep water), and suddenly felt a very powerful current pushing me away from the beach. Behind me there was nothing but vast ocean. It was one of the more frightening experiences I’ve had.