Who decided?

I went back to the pool today, by myself. I packed myself a lunch, and brought a book. I didn't bring sunscreen. I decided if I was going to burn, I would just burn. I knew this man once, my father actually. He never wore sunscreen. He doesn't to this day. He would just burn and complain and burn all over again.

I bought a root beer float from the ice cream truck. I cheered on the kids when they did their cannonball dives and their "belly smackers". I lived and loved life. I had brought along a notebook, and I dreamed up new butters and drew little pictures of them in colored pencil.

Someone, a man my age, offered me a peanut butter cookie. And I took it and I ate it and it was delicious. It had lots of butter in it and I said, "This cookie must have at least two cups of butter in it!" and the man nodded in agreement. He was wearing sunglasses. I showed him my butter doodles, and told him about my love of butter. He said that he had a similar relationship with peanut butter, and he told me about crazy roasting methods and experimenting with honey and smoked salt and everything else. Everybody has a passion, I guess. Peanut butter seems kind of limited, if you ask me.

After that, I tried diving into the pool, but everytime I jumped, I scrunched my body up and screamed. I guess I was scared. It's strange, diving that is. I mean, who stood at the edge of a body of water and said to himself: "This is how I will enter the water and I will call it diving." ?

It's weird, I've just been sitting around thinking about the origins of things. History is long, and very complex. Think of butter. Who decided to agitate cream until it became something beautiful? How did it happen?

I left the pool. I took a shower. Afterwards, I looked at my naked self. I felt sunburned and vulnerable.