911? I'm stuck in quicksand. Can you help?

This morning, Jonah wanted to know more about quicksand. Where is it? And how do you get out?

I explained that you almost never find quicksand in New Jersey, but go into Pennsylvania at your own risk. It's everywhere over there.

And I told him what everyone knows about sandsand. If you get caught in it, don't struggle. Instead, float on your back and call for help softly. If you shout too loudly, the quicksand will sense your fear and swallow you up.

Comments

[RCinProv]

Hey! The resident children's lit expert in my household says "The Quicksand Book," by Tomie de Paola. 32-pages. For kids his age.

In my realm, all that comes to mind is Deborah Stone's image of that trying to find objectivity in policy analysis is like trying to pull yourself of quicksand with your own rope.

[Laura]

Thanks RC and your resident children's lit expert. Tell her that we LOVE Strega Nona. Deborah Stone is good, too, but she doesn't have illustrations.

I guess this quicksand question amused me so much because I remember spending a lot of time thinking about quicksand when I was his age.

[M Geisst]

I live in Sussex county NJ and I have a small area at my lakeshore that is quicksand. I'm grew up watching old TV programs where people in Africa ("Rama of the Jungle")were always getting swallowed up in the stuff. I hadn't given it athought for 50 years of living in England and Bergen County. Now I have a patch at the lake and if I stick my foot in it I just keep sinking. Once I get out ( the area is so small that it only can manage one of my feet) my water shoe is covered with the most disgusting mud .