Rob Gets In Over His Head
Carlene Badeau is already dreaming of her retirement. Part of the plan is to spend lots of time relaxing by the water.
But there was one problem: She had never learned how to swim. So Carlene wrote to Rob Mariano, saying, "I desperately want to learn how to swim, though I am a real coward when it comes to getting in the water. We installed a swimming pool and I promised myself, if nothing else, I would put my head under the water by the end of the first summer."
Three summers later, Carlene still hadn't gone under — so her husband, Richard, had the pool taken out.
Having spent two seasons on "Survivor," surrounded by water, Rob Mariano seemed like the right guy to help her out. So The Early Show sent
Rob's first suggestion was a change in venue. "You know, teaching Carlene how to swim, it's something I think I can handle. The problem is she lives in Vermont, where it's freezing this time of year. So I decided I'd invite her somewhere where it's a little warmer, like Miami," he said.
They headed south and Rob took over. "I really wanted to make Carlene's experience a memorable one," he said. "So we brought her and her husband down to the Four Seasons Miami and got them a room with a waterfront view so they could think about the upcoming swimming lesson."
Next came a day of beauty at a local salon, dinner at a beachside restaurant and a poolside massage.
Then the big moment: time to swim. And Rob quickly realized he might have taken on a bigger challenge than he could handle. Carlene was happy to stand in the water, but just couldn't bring herself to dunk her head under.
"As soon as we started to go down she started panicking. I didn't understand what her fear was, but I knew right then that I needed to get a professional," he said. "So I lined up Cyndee Krantz, a master trainer and certified swim instructor."
Krantz was a professional from Miami's Sports Club L.A. and had brought along her bag of tricks, including gear like a swimming cap to get Carlene ready for a big moment.
"I'm thinking 'this is genius!' get the lady to think about all the equipment and other things and she'll be able to swim, no problem," Rob said. "Why didn't I think of that!"
And it worked. "What Cyndee was able to do was she was able to break through and get Carlene to trust her. And once she trusted her, it's like the swimming, the techniques everything just started to fall into place.
"Before long, Carlene was kicking her feet, using the swim board. It was obvious she was making real progress."
No one could have been happier about it than Carlene herself. "I was proud of myself, actually, for finally doing it, what I've always wanted to do."
Motivated by her lesson in Miami, Carlene and her husband enrolled in swimming lessons back home. As for Rob, he will be back on The Early Show next week with a few more rescues — from an extreme driving lesson to a not-so-simple baby-sitting session with his wife, Amber.