There are two misadventures mentioned by the author. The first misadventure occurred when Douglas was three or four years old at a beach in California. As he stood in the surf with his father, he was knocked down by waves and buried in the water, which left him frightened and apprehensive of water. The second 'misadventure' refers to the trauma that the author experienced at the YMCA pool. He was pushed into the deep end of the pool by an eighteen-year-old boy. On the verge of drowning and unable to recoup from the deep end, this incident instilled a deep fear of water in him. Together, both misadventures contributed to Douglas's long-lasting fear of water, which he eventually had to overcome later in life through determination and practice.