From the moment Patrick Kilgo woke up on that sunny August day in 1991 he knew that this day would change his life. He didn’t quite know how, but he knew it would. Perhaps his optimism was because he was a youthful teen, only seventeen and full of himself. There is something about teenagers, always brimming with excitement and eager to try new, and sometimes dangerous, things. They are endlessly creating and re-creating themselves. Patrick was no different, and he knew today was yet another opportunity to push the limits of his teenage ego.
As his summer break was nearing its end, Patrick decided to make the most of his remaining holiday. After all, this was his last summer before graduating from high school. With this in mind, he, his…show more content… It draws tourists from all over the United States to its white sand beaches and beautiful scenery. Patrick and Tommy gazed out from the downtown pier over the waters to see another island in the distance. This island was called Jekyll Island and it was more than a mile to the south. For the majority of the day, they swam, fished, and ate. Finally, it was nearing late afternoon and they were growing bored. At this time Cary decided to have a little fun with his younger brother.
“I bet you can’t swim from here to Jekyll Island in one hour,” challenged Cary.
“I bet I can, how much do you want to bet?” retorted Patrick.
“I’ll bet you 50 dollars, but if you can’t do it, you owe me 25. Deal?”
Patrick and Tommy both agreed to this without really thinking it through (teenagers). They shook on it and looked again at Jekyll Island in the distance. It looked about a mile away. Now, swimming a mile in under an hour can be difficult. Many things can happen. Such as cramping, tiredness, and boat accidents – many things could kill them. Patrick and Tommy both shook those thoughts away; the money was too tempting. They never even thought about…show more content… They swam and swam for a while without any trouble. Things were going great, a bit too great. As they swam they began to grow tired, but they were making good time. To help them both go faster they talked to each other, mostly about pointless things, as the island grew closer and closer. The closer they got, the faster they swam. Time was ticking and the hour was nearly finished. As they grew closer to their destination, they noticed the figure of a man on the shore. He was glaring right at them, waiting for them on the beach. They were nearly at the shore when they realized he was a park ranger - an angry park ranger.
Finally, they dragged themselves out of the water in victory-they had done it! The hour was almost finished and they won the bet. Their moment of happiness quickly vanished when they noticed the park ranger walking briskly towards them with a menacing look on his bearded face. The two boys were about hear more curse words than in a 10-minute span than they thought was possible for one man to
