FAIR GAME:

As publisher of this newspaper, I attend a lot of community events.

Most people who know me begin our conversation with, “Oh, you look great, how you feeling?”

Obviously, both comments are directly related to my kidney transplant that’s coming up on its three-year anniversary this December.

Of course, I certainly appreciate people’s concern.

But to be honest, it also concerns me that I must’ve looked terrible before surgery, but that’s another story for another day.

The follow-up question most often as our conversation continues is, “and how’s your brother doing?”

This referring to my brother, Cliff, who donated one of his healthy kidneys to me.

By the way, he’s doing fine.

And that brings me to the subject of today’s column.

You see, Cliff is and always has been a swimmer. He had a great AAU career, was the star swimmer in high school and went on scholarship to the University of Utah (To all you UCLA fans, sorry to bring up those Utes’ again. Can you say 44-6?).

Anyway the point is, Cliff was good. Still is.

Earlier this year, he participated in the Pacific Northwest LMSC 2007 U.S. Masters Swimming Short Course Nationals in the Seattle area.

Fact is, he won the 55-59 age bracket 100-yard backstroke; came in second in the 50-yard back; third in both the 200-yard back and 400 individual medley.

Which brings me to a family argument: Who gets the medals?

Granted, Cliff has worked out his entire life committing hours upon hours, swimming lap after lap, even swimming thousand of yards most mornings, sometimes after a walk in the snow, before work. And don’t forget the weights.

Me on the other hand, I like to sleep late. I use an electric cart when I play golf. I try to look for that parking spot closest to the store to ensure the shortest walk. The fact is, I’m lazy.

My philosophy is you don’t want to get too tired doing anything too strenuous.

But when one looks at Cliff’s late career success, to me, it all points to one thing.

The transplant.

By my way of thinking, I have actually done Cliff the favor, not vice versa. Without that extra kidney, he is actually lighter in the water and that vacated cavity that once housed his kidney has now made him more buoyant, allowing him to be higher in the water.

Hence, his success is, in fact, really my success.

So when I got to reading earlier this week about Roy Disney donating his elapsed time record trophy for the Transpacific Yacht Race to the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, it got me thinking.

Perhaps Cliff’s many trophies and medals should actually be displayed in my home.

It’ll prove once and for all that all those years of laziness have finally paid off, and my dad was wrong.

TOM JOHNSON is the publisher. Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at (714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to dailypilot@latimes.com.