FIRST PERSON

don’t remember how I managed to start it or how I actually made my way to the patch of lawn between the adult swimming pool and the general pool, but there I was.

Afraid that someone might think I didn’t know what I was doing, I proceeded to try several levers until the mower undercarriage dropped down; then I moved the shift to slot No. 1.

Slowly, the mower began to move across the yard. As I neared the end of the grass, I started pushing pedals in search of a brake, not realizing that I had stopped by letting up on the left pedal.

I looked around desperately, but no one seemed to notice me engaged in my own futile tutorial.

I needed to back up. I moved the shift to what I thought was reverse but was actually slot No. 3 (the fastest forward speed) and let up on the clutch. Boom! The tractor did a mini-wheelie, and before I knew what was happening, it screamed toward the 5-foot area of the general pool, which contained about 18 inches of water.

Next thing I knew, I woke up in the emergency room at Riverside Methodist Hospital.

Of course, the shame I feared if others learned that I couldn’t work the mower was now real — and had multiplied exponentially.

I was told that, as the tractor careened into the pool, the seat flipped me high into the air and I landed, uh, vertically downward.

I can still feel the ridgelike scar from the stitches I needed on the crown of my head — a ready reminder of the lesson learned:

After recuperating for several weeks, I returned to my job at the pool, now opened and filled with kids.

My first task was to pick up trash on the grounds. I sheepishly headed for the infamous patch of grass, not knowing whether I was now viewed as the staff dunce by the guards and other employees.

Glancing at the lifeguard chair in the 5-foot area, I quickly realized that there were no hard feelings. As I read the hand-painted sign on the chair — “Danger, Falling Tractor Zone” — I could hear other staff members laughing as they yelled, almost in unison, “Welcome back, Vos!”

I never hesitated to ask for help again.