It’s come to my attention that people have been making up stories about me.

I’ve been using a chair for handicapped people to get in and out of the deep-water pool I’ve been enjoying this summer. I’d avoided the ladders on the way in because I was afraid I’d slip, and also when I was finished, because my arms weren’t strong enough to pull myself out.

I frequent this pool almost daily, and I’ve never seen anyone else use any of the three chairs. The ride is very slow, which gives other swimmers plenty of time to watch me as they come up for a breath or change strokes. I sometimes pretend I am on an amusement park ride, and I wave warmly whenever I catch someone’s eye.

Additionally, I use a float belt so that I can “jog” back and forth like I do in a shallower pool (without a belt). As far as I can tell, I am the only person at this pool to use such a device.

One day two weeks ago, after a particularly long and vigorous workout, I shivered as the chair lifted me out of the pool. I thought ahead to autumn and winter, when the days would truly be cooler and I would feel even more chilled atop the chair in my wet bathing suit. Using the ladder would be much quicker; could I manage it?

Imagine my thrill when I discovered I could!

And now, imagine my bewilderment when, day after day, for the next two weeks, various people approached me to ask how I had cured my back trouble, or my leg trouble, or…fill in the blank. Thank G-d, I do not suffer from back trouble, or leg trouble. I am currently the healthiest I have been in my entire adult life.

It seems that the spectators had made up stories in their heads to explain why I was using the ladder. And more stories about the belt. I readily understood that none of this was malicious, or hurtful.

We humans want so badly to comprehend everything, to avoid confusion, that we often invent stories so we can make sense of what we see and hear. The next time I catch myself doing this, though, I will do my best to check my assumptions and get closer to the truth.