“It was the shortest day of the year: December 21st, 1987. I’d...

“It was the shortest day of the year:  December 21st, 1987.  I’d stepped out of the office to go on my lunchtime run.  I was jogging along the river, just a few hundred meters from this spot, and I noticed somebody pointing into the water.  There was a man out there.  He’d jumped off the Waterloo bridge.  I could see him in the middle of the river, waving his arms.  Now I’m a total sissy when it comes to the water.  When I go to the beach, I don’t just race into the sea.  I go inch-by-inch.  Like a sissy.  But on this day I took off my shoes and leapt into the river.  It was a very high wall, and the whole way down I’m thinking: ‘Shit this is going to be cold.’  But as soon as I hit the water, I got my mind on the job.  I swam 50 yards until I reached the man.  By that time he was unconscious, but I pulled him toward the shore.  A police boat arrived and hauled us out with ropes.  They took me to the station, filed a report, gave me some old clothes, and sent me on my way.    There were no newspaper articles.  No interviews.  I told nobody except for my boss, because I had to explain why I was late for my 2:45 meeting.  But I did get one little thing.  Hanging in my home, at the top of the staircase, there’s a certificate from the police commissioner.  It says: ‘Gallantry Award: Rescued A Drowning Man From The River Thames.”
(London, England)