The Old Coot took a dive.
By Merlin Lessler
I took a swim the other
day. It wasn’t planned. Some people would classify it as a fall, something they
keep track of when you’re an old coot. I call it an unexpected immersion.
The Johnson’s Pool people
were here to “open” our pool. I usually do it myself but my wife decided I’m
too old to pull the cover off without falling in or creating a mess with the
junk that lies on top of the cover. I hate it when she’s right! So anyhow, the
Johnson pool crew had the cover off, all the plugs removed and were prepping
the filter and pump mechanism, a short distance behind the pool. I was backing
around the edge, blasting the maple tree helicopters away from the edge of the
pool with a hose. It was a chilly afternoon; I dressed for the weather in
jeans, a winter sweater and a jacket.
It was the least I could
do, this little housekeeping chore. As I backed around one of the corners,
which are rounded off, I miscalculated and backed right over the edge into the
pool. I used to take a dip with my son
when we took off the cover in April or early May. It was a tradition – 2 brave
souls in 50 degree water. I was a lot younger in those days; my son Zachary
moved out on his own and the tradition came to an end. Until now! Our pool is
the smallest that Johnsons ever installed, at least at the time -10 feet by 20
feet, 5 and 1/2 feet deep in the deep end.
I wasn’t in any danger as
I took my unplanned dip in the 49-degree water that had just been treated with
three gallons of chlorine. With supervision and yelps from my wife, I paddled
to the shallow end and climbed out, a drowned rat coughing from chlorine fumes.
My cell phone decided to stay in the pool, sinking to the bottom in the deep
end. Now, I have a new one. And know for sure, that the rice-in-a-bag treatment
for a wet phone doesn’t work for one that took a long swim.
I hope I haven’t started a
new pool opening tradition. I can’t afford to buy a new cell phone every year.
Comments? Send to –
mlessler7@gmail.com
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