<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first time I came to Ithaca was in September 1972, to register at Cornell. Barton Hall was packed with incoming freshmen; my big surprise was that we had to prove we could swim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The writing on the Teagle Hall wall was something like this: \u201cOur bodies are vessels that carry us through life, and we need to take good care of them<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn’t suspect then the impact those words would have on me throughout my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Non-swimmers had to register for a swimming phys ed class; I passed the test, so I was exempted. <\/p>\n<\/div> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was amusing to learn that one could not get a Cornell diploma without learning how to swim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The classes I took to satisfy the phys ed requirement, like scuba and basketball, were fun. It was a good thing Teagle Pool and Barton Hall were near the Engineering Quad; I swam and played ball at every opportunity. Spring fever pushed people outdoors to lawns, lakes, parks, and waterfalls after long white winters of New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ten hectic semesters and five years later, I returned to my hometown of Adana, Turkey, close to the salty Mediterranean Sea, where the water temperature reaches 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) in summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was amusing to learn that one could not get a Cornell diploma without learning how to swim.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Fast forward 10 years. I had married in 1983. Our son Mustafa was born, followed by daughter Elif. I had to provide. My epiphany about the body as a \u201cvessel\u201d popped up 13 years after my freshman year: I had to take better care of myself and my family, and I began making more time for sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stopped working on Saturdays, as I met for basketball with high school buddies in the gym of our boarding school alma mater. Kebab lunch afterwards was a bonus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fast forward another 30 years. Our nest is empty. After three decades of farming, contracting, and design, I slowed down\u2014only to go on farming. New hobbies like carpentry and \u201csofter\u201d sports like cycling and swimming turned out to be a godsend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Turkish Olympic Committee organized the first Istanbul Intercontinental swim race in 1989. The Bosphorus\u2014a major shipping channel, about 3 kilometers wide, that separates Europe from Asia\u2014is closed to traffic for one midsummer Sunday each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This major occasion was broadcast on live TV. I must have crossed over the intercontinental divide maybe a thousand times, but swimming across it; now, that was my challenge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was 60, and thought, \u201cIf 85-year-olds can do it, why not me?\u201d I registered and ended up qualifying for the 2015 race with an 800-meter pool swim. Next came two months of intense training, up to a few days before the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four of us\u2014all men from my high school\u2014finished on that Sunday morning, swimming 6.5 kilometers with the current from the Asian side to the European side, where the crowd was waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The real challenge was to stay on course and not get sucked up in the eddies and bends along the straits. It was exhilarating to conquer the channel\u2014cause for celebration. Stamina as well as courage counts when you are in the water, taking thousands of steady strokes to the finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the pandemic years, my wife and I picked up yoga\u2014but swimming a kilometer a day became my meditation. The rhythm was soothing; counting laps, I could forget the things I had to face later. Morning swims really made my day.<\/p>\n<\/div> <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Straits of Messina swim\u2014between Sicily and Italy\u2014resumed in 2022, I signed up. Stepping up my exercise gradually until I could cover 3 kilometers in an hour took me about three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were only 16 swimmers; the group didn\u2019t race, even yielding to a cruise ship during the crossing. All of us finished and celebrated over lunch, and certificates were handed out on the Torre Faro beach afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Five decades after that Cornell swim test, that locker room wall saying keeps coming back. Feeding the soul is not enough; we have to take care of our \u201cvessels.\u201d Keeping fit is a way of life! The young believe they are invincible. It takes them a while to realize that their bodies are the greatest instruments they shall ever own.<\/p>\n\n\n I am still regularly swimming and enjoying playing ball and our Kebab ritual afterwards. The lamb may have too much fat, but who is perfect?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many middle-aged friends eat badly, smoke, drink, and never exercise. Some start to do so, but too late. In contrast: I wish to be an 85-year-old with some bounce in my joints, who can still take on physical challenges. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I am happy when my \u201cvessel\u201d cruises smoothly\u2014even in choppy seas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A native of Turkey,<\/em> Abdullah Paksoy \u201976, MEng \u201977<\/em><\/strong>, describes himself as a \u201ccivil engineer \/ farmer \/ carpenter \/ tinkerer.\u201d He is the co-founder of Akpak Co., which was active in industrial construction for 25 years. He consults as a civil engineer, is an expert in solar cooking, has planted more than 15,000 citrus trees, and grows field crops. His current projects include designing and building a treehouse for his grandson.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n All images provided.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Published October 24, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I took the swim test as an incoming freshman, I had no idea how vital the sport would become to me later in life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":30063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[639],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[469],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-12232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-perspectives","cornell_year_post-469"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Abdullah](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/IMG-0064-A-731x1024.jpg\")
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