Burdened with thoughts

Today's workout was fun and went well, however I wasn't really feeling all that into it as I was burdened with thoughts, but I'll share that after reporting the swim:

Thanks to Loneswimmer, I bought some new PT Paddles and Finger paddles and this morning I tried them out for the first time.

2000 free
1000 kick - 2 x 500 kick with fins
2000 free
1000 free w/ PT Paddles

PT stands for "Perfect Technique".  My first length with these was really funky!  It has the effect of swimming without any hands.  When you pull, your arm comes back and it almost feels like you aren't getting any catch at all.  They're designed that way.  It forces you (if you want to actually make forward motion) to pull back efficiently with a bent elbow and avoiding the "S" pull.  If you do the "S" pull, you almost don't go anywhere.  You have to pull properly.  These are also called "Anti-paddles" as they have the reverse effect.  That is true.  If I were to name these, I'd call them "Grateful paddles".  It makes you so grateful to have hands.  There are some special athlete swimmers who probably don't have hands and this gives you just a tiny little taste of what it's like to have a disability.  When you take them off and just swim without equipment, you feel like you're wearing paddles cause you get a good pull and really fly!

1000 free no equip
1000 free w/finger paddles

 These paddles really make you focus on your hand position.  If you start your catch too soon, then the front of the paddle catches the water and stretches the front of the paddle away from your fingers.  You have to watch that your hand enters the water properly, and that when you initiate your catch you actually pull the water back.  Otherwise your hand position slows you down and you're quickly able to identify why.  These were fun, and definitely no strain on the shoulder.

1000 free no equip


9,000 yards total in 2:35

Definitely not an intense workout day.  When I wasn't experimenting with paddles I was thinking about this story.  I try to put myself in the shoes of the relatives of those who were wronged, and I just have a hard time coming to the conclusion that a grave robber should receive such a cruel and unusual punishment.  I can only come up with three explanations:  

1. This story is just a wives tale and makes for a great campfire story for a bunch of scouts who like this kind of crap.
2. John Baptiste must have been guilty of even more heinous crimes. Perhaps mutilating the bodies?  I mean he took clothes from people who didn't need them?  IMHO the way we bury dead people is SO STUPID.  I realize we want to respect their body, but it's just dust people!  Their spirit is what matters after they die.  Personally I want to be cremated and put in a mason jar, not put in an overpriced box and buried deep in the earth taking up space.  The inefficiency drives me crazy!
3. This scenario scares me the most:  The "saints" of the time, including the religious leaders, were so overcome with vengeance, (and not a sense of justice) that they gave in to their anger and acted like animals rather than "saints".  How could you justify sending someone to an island all by themselves without means to properly survive?  The crime simply doesn't justify the punishment in this case.  So I'm hoping that it's actually the first explanation.

I'm actually going to watch a movie about this story on Saturday.  I hope it clears things up a little for me instead of making me even more mad.