On a hike in the hills above Edinburgh, Scotland, we passed an older man, around 80, who was making his way up the hill. He told us we could swim in the reservoir, as he had done “every day, as a child, before breakfast.” I knew what I had to do.

Photo of a lake with a long dry beach in front, and trees and blue sky behind. A caucasian man is floating in the middle of the lake, smiling and waving.

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