I am a certified Baby Boomer, so when I grew up in the 1960s there were nearly three zillion kids in my neighborhood.

Nearby was a public pool that offered free swimming lessons each summer. Most of us kids begged to attend those lessons, and most of us did.

This was just a medium sized pool, not equipped to hold a full neighborhood. Sometimes there were so many of us, it heated the water…which brings me to my story.

One day, I was standing in water near the pool’s edge, when I saw a small green object. It was a medium sized frog, swimming freestyle around the edges.

But the frog wasn’t there for the lessons. It apparently wanted out. What could I do?

I walked over to the frog, cradled it in my hands, and lifted it onto the edge. Since this water contained chemicals, I probably saved that amphibian.

But he sat on the edge for a minute, then jumped back into the pool. Again, I cradled him to help him escape, but he surprised me.

As you probably know, some frogs secrete a substance that makes them slippery. That frog slid out of my hand, and back into the water. I kept chasing him around the pool, and he kept evading me until – suddenly – he got sucked into the filter.

That’s the day I learned that – like that frog – some people don’t realize when the water’s too deep. And they don’t pay attention to those who offer help.