This week the Elmhurst Independent was kind enough to print my farewell to the 2019 swim season at East End Pool. For those who don’t get delivery of that paper, here’s what I wrote.
Another season of swimming at East End Pool has ended and we are all left wondering where did the summer go? The brutally cold polar vortex infused winter we endured this year made the 2019 summer swimming sessions a beacon of hope to look forward to.
However, from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, pool goers were under a constant threat of cooler temperatures and rain which made us appreciate the few warm sunny days we got. There was the three day run of ultra hot humid conditions in July, but after that stretch afternoons in the mid-eighties’ with little humidity almost seemed cold! Still, we adult swim ‘Regulars’ persisted.
In the 2005 movie “Fever Pitch” Jimmy Fallon plays a school teacher and Boston Red Sox season ticket holder who sits with the same fellow fanatics for every home game. While courting Drew Barrymore, Jimmy introduces her to these folks and says, “They’re my summer family.” Well that perfectly describes me and my fellow swim regulars at East End Pool.
Sadly we lost some of last summer’s regulars, one moved out of state to be closer to her grandkids, one had to move to a nursing home and another passed away. We missed these good people and yet there were new friends who became part of the family and we’re always ready to welcome more.
There’s something soothing about the communal gathering in the waters of East End Pool. It’s a daily social event and a great thing to look forward to during my teacher’s summer break. While getting in some exercise we share news on what’s going on around town and there’s the banter about everything else from baseball to reviews of new movies and concerts. I only wish our time in the pool could last longer than a little over three months.
As usual, the staff at East End did a fine job in keeping up the pool and providing a fun and safe place for people of any age to enjoy.
So now the gates are closed, the water will be drained and we’ve got almost nine months to wait to get back into East End Pool. Like many others, I’m hoping for a less wicked winter and a warmer and sunnier 2020 season. I look forward to more time spent with my summer family.
NEXT WEEK’S BLOG– EXPLAINING MY BARE FOOT PHOBIA.