It’s going to be especially hard to say good-bye to our old friend when the Erb Park Pool closes this weekend, because it has been especially good to us this year. Nearly every evening we have headed across the street for a little post-dinner swim and, nearly every evening we have walked home so very [...]
Yesterday, I called my mom to make alternative plans for our evening swimming date. “What? We’ll be fine,” she said. I glanced back at my cell phone and confirmed that the temperature outside read 58 degrees. “It’s a little chilly, don’t you think?” I said. “Listen, I’m going for my morning swim. If it’s too [...]
Twenty-two days after its solstice, the sounds of summer returned to our neighborhood, necessary as the soft breeze that carried them. Laughter danced around the southwest corner of the park, and drifted into our open windows. We welcomed back all the splashes, squeals, whistles, and boings. Then, lured by that happy cacophony, we headed over [...]
I don't know how many thousands of children have learned to swim at the Erb Park Pool, but I do know how many will learn to swim on a splash pad. Zero. That's why Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna's announcement that the city had decided to replace the pool with a splash pad astounded me. There [...]