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FLAMINGO
DEEP WATER

Yakima River

William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898 – January 19, 1980) was an American jurist and
politician who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Douglas was confirmed at the age of 40, one of
the youngest justices appointed to the court. His term, lasting 36 years and 211 days (1939–75),
is the longest in the history of the Supreme Court. In 1975 Time magazine called Douglas "the
most doctrinaire and committed civil libertarian ever to sit on the court". After serving as the
third chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Douglas was successfully
nominated to the Supreme Court, succeeding Justice Louis Brandeis. He was also known as a
strong opponent of the Vietnam War and an ardent advocate of environmentalism.
DEEP WATER BY WILLIAM DOUGLAS
This is an incident from the author’s childhood, an misadventure that led him to learn about
courage and fearlessness .An experience that empowered him to discover that he had the
indomitable power and the resilience to surmount any challenge in life .This autobiographical
account by William Douglas leads us to believe that this is what enabled him to become one of
the most powerful men in America during his lifetime. William Douglas had quite a difficult
childhood, he was afflicted with polio and this probably led to his fascination to climb and scale
mountain peaks and he was an ace mountaineer. He lost his father at the age of six and faced
poverty and hunger ,however his brilliance could not be hidden behind a bushel and he rose to
be the youngest serving justice of America.
When he was two to three years old his father had taken him to a beach in California where he
was swept over by a huge crashing wave .This incident left a deep impact and he developed an
aversion to water .However when he was ten or eleven years old he started learning swimming
at the YMCA swimming pool .His mother heightened his fear of water by not allowing him to
swim in the Yakima river as it was very treacherous .So he was learning to swim and gradually
shedding his apprehensions .However one fine day he went early to the pool but was too timid to
get into the water as there was no one around .Unfortunately along came a big burly bully who
decided to have some fun .He picked up the skinny William and threw him into the pool.
The author gives a detailed account of how he went careening down to the bottom of the pool
.As he was going down he devised a strategy that as soon as his feet touched the bottom of the
pool he would use all his might and push himself to the surface and once he reached the top he
would lie flat and swim to the edge of the pool. However this was not to happen and he went
down for the second time and then a stark, paralysing ,chilling and gripping fear swamped
him, a murky darkness numbed his mind ,water that was crystal clear when he started his journey
down seemed as dark and unyielding as treacle. He experienced a fear that cannot be described
.In the midst of this blinding fear he experienced a scintilla of reason which reminded him that he
had to push himself up as soon as his feet touched the ground .He mustered all his courage
,struggling with his arms flailing ,gasping for breath but in vain.
For the third time when an unseen powerful force was pulling him down he stopped fighting and
struggling .A calming ,soothing peacefulness engulfed him .There was no fear ,no struggle and
he passed into a serene tranquil state of oblivion .He thought that he had died but he did not
drown. He was rescued and resuscitated .
The haunting fear of this harrowing incident tormented him. With the passage of time the fear
became deeply entrenched in his mind and proved to be a major handicap. He just couldn’t enjoy
swimming ,canoeing and boating expeditions .
When he realised that the fear was overpowering and enslaving him he decided to take
cognizance of it .He engaged an instructor to teach him swimming .The instructor tied a rope
and fixed it on a pulley .Then he trained him ,step by step, perfecting each step before moving on
to the next. From the month of October to April ,he practised five days a week a hour each day.
He swam across the length and breadth of the pool day after day ,hour after hour. But whenever
the instructor would loosen the rope and he would be underwater the same fear would engulf him
,with the same horrendous ,petrifying intensity .In the month of April the instructor told him that
he had finished and there was nothing more to teach. But Douglas was not finished because he
had not been able to emancipate himself form the fear .Although the intensity of the fear had
lessened but he could only gain victory when he was totally free of fear.So he would swim in the
pool all by himself and each time he would go underwater the fear would attack him but now he
could confront his fear ,he could face it and taunt his fear, he could challenge it .He did this till
July ,yet tiny vestiges of the fear remained.
This was a battle he was waging with his own frailty and he needed to be triumphant ,he needed
to be devoid of all fear.
So armed with an invincible determination to conquer it he went to Lake Wentworth swam
across to Trigg’s island .The fear crawled in but he could banish it and it fled. Yet he was not
convinced .It was only when he camped in the high meadow on the banks of Warm lake and
swam across ,was he finally convinced that he had vanquished his fear .

At a very young age William Douglas had experienced death and he had learnt that death is not
frightening .On the contrary it is a very calm and peaceful state ,there is no fear ,no struggle .It is
blissful and almost beatific .It is not death but the fear of death that imprisons our mind and fills
us with weakness ,makes us vulnerable ,holds us back in chains .
This incident made him comprehend the true significance of President Roosevelt’s words in his
inaugural speech-
“The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”
(So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself —
nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into
advance.)
Thus by being able to overcome his fear of water he learnt that he had the courage and the ability
to overcome any kind of fear. He learnt that he no obstacle or impediment could hold him back
from achieving success .Thus armed with this belief he could traverse the most treacherous and
inhospitable terrain of life , climb the most daunting peaks and reach the summit .
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q.1.How did Douglas develop an aversion to water?
At the age of three or four, when the author accompanied his father to the beach of California ,
he realized that he disliked water. When his father took him in the water a huge wave swept over
him .He was submerged in water as the wave crashed over him and this made him develop an
aversion to water.
Q.2.How did his experience at the YMCA swimming pool affect Douglas?
Douglas’ experience of almost drowning and his close shave with death instilled a fear of water
in him. He shook and cried, couldn’t eat, for days a haunting fear engulfed him, the slightest
exertion upset him. He never went back to the pool, feared water and avoided it whenever he
could. This fear held him in its tentacles and ruined his fishing, canoeing and boating expeditions
.

Q.3.What lesson did Douglas learn from this experience?

The relentless pursuit to learn swimming, and to banish fear not only bore fruit, but also taught
him some valuable lessons in life. He realized how true was President Roosevelt when he said,
―All we have to fear is fear itself.‖ Douglas had survived a near death situation once, and later,
learnt to dispel the long shadow the horror had cast on his psyche. The conquest emboldened him
to defy fear and venture on to nerve-racking feats. He emerged a much stronger man from the
childhood ordeal, simply because he chose to confront dread through frontal assault

YOU MAY READ THE LESSON ONCE AGAIN ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

Answer the following in 40 words.

Q1. What misadventure did Douglas experience at the YMCA pool?
Q.2.Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
Q3.How did the instructor turn Douglas into a swimmer?
Q4.How did Douglas overcome his residual doubts of fear ?
Long answer questions -150 words
Q5.Describe the efforts made by Douglas to prevent himself from drowning when the big bully
threw him into the YMCA pool.
Q6.The lesson ―Deep Water‖ makes you realise that perseverance, determination and an
invincible optimism can empower us to overcome the impossible. Explain