Sleeping Swans and Those Dam/Weirs

I've heard of people who sleepwalk, and I have been told that I talk in my sleep. I've even said that I could drive across the country to Dad and Flo's place in my sleep. I have never thought of trying to swim in my sleep.

I guess I had known that some aquatic fowl slept on the water; this being safer than sleeping on the banks of the river and falling prey to cats or other predators but I cannot remember when I have seen it before. Or, at least I cannot remember making note of having seen it. This morning, however, cool and bright after the recent rains, there were dozens of swans sleeping along the Thames. They were pretty spread-out so I could not get pictures of large numbers of them; they looked like trash floating on the river from a distance. It was not 'til I was about to enter the path along the Thames that I realized that they were sleeping swans.

But the sight of all those sleeping birds gave me pause for thought. Presumably, they are being carried downstream by the flow of the river. I wonder if they use the weirs as alarm clocks. When they bump into the top of a weir I assume it would wake them up. They could then paddle up stream a few feet if they want to use the snooze alarm. If they miss the weir somehow, I guess they may flow all the way down to London. That would be embarrassing! "What? Damn! The Tower Bridge, I've overslept!"

On the subject of "weirs," until this weekend I would have just said "dam" because that was what I assumed those dam structures were. Fortunate for me, I was corrected by the locals. They are called "weirs" by the locals. I had heard of weirs before but never really had used the word as I was not familiar with what, exactly they were. I looked-up the term for clarification:

weir

n.
1: a low dam built across a stream to raise its level or divert its flow
2: a fence or wattle built across a stream to catch or retain fish

[Middle English were, from Old English wer. Probably of Indo-European Roots.]

(Interestingly, "Weir" is also the name of a town in Kansas, Mississippi, and Texas... presumably one town named "Weir" in each state not one town that is in all three simultaneously... but I digress.)

But wait, so, a "weir" is a "dam?" Huh... So then, what is a "dam?"

dam

n.
1. A barrier constructed across a waterway to control the flow or raise the level of water.
2. A body of water controlled by such a barrier.
3. A barrier against the passage of liquid or loose material, as a rubber sheet used in dentistry to isolate one or more teeth from the rest of the mouth.
4. An obstruction; a hindrance.

tr.v. dammed, dam·ming, dams
1. To hold back or confine by means of a dam.
2. To close up; obstruct: He tried to dam his grief.

Synonym: hinder

[Middle English]

It goes on to say that dam is also an archaic way of referring to the female parent of a four-legged animal or to the mother of a person. But that is not important right now.
Damn! You mean I was right? Hmmm... no! This cannot possibly be right! Do you mean to say that I have some proficiency in the language? (Well, to paraphrase my father...) Hell, I've only been speaking since I was a kid!

Say it ain't so! It does make me feel just the slightest bit superior but I will try not to gloat!

I hope you have some chance to feel satisfied with yourself today!

Don Bergquist - 02-August-2005 - Thames Ditton, United Kingdom