Taking a dive of faith

Well, it's all just about over. I hope you found the time to enjoy some of it.

It's nearly the end of July and the Plymouth County Fair is in full swing. This can only mean one thing: summer will soon be over.

Yes, I know, it doesn't seem fair, but the signs are all around. In a few short weeks, schools will be opening their doors and the patterns and routines of the school year will soon be back in effect.

July was cooler and much wetter than normal, leaving our yards lush and green when they normally would have been fried by now. The cooler weather has been a boon to many with lower utility bills, but the cool weather has many worried about the development of the corn crop. Corn flourishes in heat and humidity, and both have been in short supply this month.

But perhaps the heat will return in August, which has been known to be very warm.

I was taking some photos at the Veterans Memorial Park for a project we were working on a couple of weeks ago and heard the announcements coming from the municipal pool that it was time for swimmers to get out of the pool for a required rest break. The sun, the breeze and the sound of a swim break transported me back instantly to my childhood, when going swimming at the municipal pool was a way we passed many a summer day growing up.

The pool was about a mile from my house, close enough to ride a bike or walk. There were several hills on the way. Going to the pool, there were two hills -- one early in the journey, and a large, winding one to get to the pool at the top of a hill.

Getting there was fine. We coasted down a large hill, pressing our bodies as close to the handlebars as we could on a 1970s stingray bike, pedaling as fast as we dared to build up as much momentum as possible to get as far up the hill before we had to stand and really pump our legs to make the last 200 yards.

It all worked out fairly well. By the time you got to the pool, you were ready for a refreshing dip in the clear water. Our family purchased a season ticket for the pool, so we simply had to go by the front counter and yell out "ticket" and proceed to the changing rooms to get into our trunks, take a brief shower (why take a shower when you were jumping into the largest bathtub in town?) and head for the pool.

I'm sure each of you can remember your experiences at the city pool. The first time you got to leave the "baby" pool behind and carefully lower yourself into the three - foot deep end of the pool. It was pretty scary, wasn't it? Felt dumb when you could stand up? Yes, me too.

How about swimming into the six foot end? Going off of the low diving board? Once you were comfortable enough with that sensation of the deep end of the pool, and after you had been goaded into action by friends, you finally tried the high board.

Remember how it felt like that ladder would never end? How windy it was all the way at the top? How you could look over the entire pool, and a great deal of the neighborhood?

How about how time slowed down as you made your first leap off the high board? The sensation of falling, having no control? Then, after safely splashing down, the rush of conquering a fear as you kicked your way to the surface?

Great stuff.

After swimming for hours, we would exhaustedly make our way back home. The hills that had been our friend on the journey to the pool now tortured our tired legs. It was even worse walking the bikes up the hill.

After arriving home, we rinsed our swimming trunks out in the sink and hung them on the clothesline in back to dry, ready for the next day.

Enjoy the fair this week. Go swimming with your kids or grandkids in the next few weeks. Have some fun.

There's plenty of time for work.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.