Isaac was fourteen before he learned his first painful lesson: There are still plenty of people in this world who need no excuse to execute a black man.

The irony is that Isaac was almost lynched after earning his manhood, but doing it the right way!

With upwardly mobile parents, Isaac was surburbanized as much as possible, but it didn't help him find his niche in child society. He was one of only a handful of blacks in his schools and, now, in summer camp, the same was true.

Despite the cliché, Isaac was an excellent swimmer and often forayed out after bed check to get in some real challenging laps.

One fateful night, after floating around and performing some loosening up exercises, Isaac was ready to take on a mile swim around the lake, but a higher authority had a much more challenging task for him to take!

He almost got hit by this rowboat - who would have a rowboat out on the lake at night, and why didn't he hear any rowing at all?

Suddenly, the boat lurched as someone went overboard! It didn't sound like a dive, it sounded like whimpering, just before the awkward splash.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Isaac to announce his presence to whomever almost landed on him, but nobody surfaced!

His pulse now racing, Isaac acted on instinct, not caring for consquences that he had no idea were nearby, and he dove right in the spot where this other kid (he assumed) fell in.

He was down maybe fifteen to twenty feet when his ears began to throb from the pressure. Most people would let self preservation steer them back to the surface, but Isaac could still hear that whimper in his mind. Was it a call for help?

When he reached a dangling arm, it felt like seaweed was sucking them deeper, until he stubbed his toe against this huge rock, floating there!

How was THAT possible? It was attached to the boy's body!

Isaac muscled the crude duct tape off the leg and that rock fell away, the two bodies suddenly gaining buoyancy as Isaac flailed to get them back to the surface.

But the boy wasn't breathing. It might already be too late.

Isaac dragged him to shore as fast as his challenged lungs and legs could get the job done.

He'd seen the classes. There was NO chance unless he performed mouth to mouth resuscitation immediately - so he did, but to no avail.

Isaac, being a skinny kid, had no real gutteral strength, but he wanted to try the heimlich maneuver to expel some water. The best he could manage was a hard punch to the stomach!

Miraculously, it had some effect, so he gave it another shot, even harder, and he got a bellyful of lake water!

Rolling the not-yet-dead boy over, our hero lifted the lower torso and pressed on the stomach again, more evenly.

As water gagged out of the mouth, Isaac knew he had passed the first test. He continued mouth to mouth until the next miracle occurred - he heard people, nearby!

He shouted, "Come quick, I have a boy here that's almost drowned!"

Part two of Isaac's 'test' was about to begin, and no amount of studying could prepare him for what was about to happen next!

The people were camp counselors from the girl's camp on the opposite side of the lake. They had flashlights and knives(?) with them, and when they saw this black boy with a nearly dead white girl (yes, girl!), they went ape shit on him, almost killing him before he could speak!

Despite the kicking and screaming, Isaac was able to verbalize enough for the female of the three to order a halt to his torture, lest little 'Lorna' die while they bickered.

Lorna was breathing, thanks entirely to Isaac's selfless sacrifice, but she was also unconscious, and could not attest to anything.

Isaac was held, without being given his rights (although autorities would later claim to have done so), and he was grilled mercilessly.

"Why did you take her out there? Was she pregnant with YOUR baby? Is that why you tried to kill her?" These were leading statements that were illegal at the very least.

Crying, Isaac managed to say it one more time for the authorities, "I often snuck out for a swim. I saw this boat. It almost hit me. Then, this kid falls out of the boat. I dive in after him. I find a rock taped to his foot. I remove it. We make it to shore. I apply mouth to mouth. It's not good. I can't apply enough pressure for a heimlich, so I punch him in the stomach. It shows some results. I do it once more and get lots of water spewed up. I re-apply mouth to mouth. I hear people and I shout out."

"Now, I find out it's a girl. They think she's pregnant. They think I got her pregnant! Why would I murder her and then NOT sneak off into the night?" Isaac finally pleads.

Just then, an official looking 'suit' came in, whispered to the officer in charge, after which time they uncuffed Isaac and told him he was free to go.

The police took a kicking and screaming camp counselor into lockup as the suit told Isaac, "Son, we're not all like that. This bastard beat you partially because you're black, but also because you ruined everything for him by saving young Lorna. He had her convinced that her life was over so she committed suicide, except God sent you to intervene on his evil scheme."

"Lorna has awakened. She's crying. The baby aborted, but she confirmed that Doug got her pregnant, and that she taped that cobblestone to her leg. The scuba team has already recovered it." The suit finished by extending his hand and asking for Isaac's forgiveness, as well as congratulating him on a job so well done, few experienced swimmers could have pulled it off.

There was no one to pick up young Isaac at the police station. The cops tried his home, but only got voice mail.

Just then, Lorna's father showed up, asking to see the bastard that got his little baby pregnant, but upon seeing Isaac and misinterpreting, he lunged at the youngster, saying, "You little fuckin' n... ," but he was cut off by the suit, who told him this was the man that SAVED Lorna. Doug was being arraigned at that very moment for the statutory rape to begin with, since Lorna was the same fourteen as Isaac, and in a state where the age of consent is sixteen.

Changing his tune, but not apologizing, old man Rickins (of country fried chicken fame) wanted the book thrown at that bastard camp couselor, then threatened to sue the whole lot of them over this.

Another official looking suit walked in on the 'love fest', this one whispering that Lorna wanted to meet the man that saved her.

Isaac had not even seen her clearly. In fact, he thought it was another boy! A little voice would never be silenced in his mind if he didn't meet her, face to face.

Daddy Rickens would never allow it, until his baby threatened to repeat her suicidal attempt over and over if she couldn't even see her "angel of mercy"!

When Lorna first saw Isaac, she had already been told he was black, but she didn't believe it was really him, as in the one who saved her.

She opened with, "I thought you people coudn't even swim!"

Isaac's tears of joy at seeing a life he resurrected could not be faked, and he stood across the room and merely nodded, then shrugged innocently.

Perfunctorily, she asked that he come real close to her. Isaac emerged forth and leaned over Lorna.