sometimes, the shortsightedness and sheer stupidity of others drives me to, well, freak out. this, my friends, is one of those times. i LIKE living here. also, i like living where there are nice things to do.okay, for those of you who are not manitowoc dwellers, here's the deal: yes, it does get hot here in the summer. yes, we have beaches (we are on lake michigan, which is a great lake), but ours are sadly, frequently closed because of pollution (usually e coli from 800 million seagulls crapping at once, or perhaps something about the 10 billion cigarette butts strewn all over) and, frankly, they aren't as nicely accessible as they should be.
anyway, the public city pool (circa 1969) closed several years ago because it was leaking. a lot. so, since we need a new city pool, why not make it DECENT? so a design was made with a zero-depth entry area for toddlers, and a water play area, and a lap area, and a water slide, and it was a WONDERFUL idea. and they raised a whole bunch of money for it, but they still needed funding from the city.
and now, after five years, the manitowoc city council has rejected it. no city pool. god forbid your property taxes go up two dollars to improve the quality of life. hmm, i wonder if they will fix up the beaches then? anyone? bueller?
so our family swimming options are:
1. overcrowded ymca indoor pool
2. slathered in seagull poo and sprinkled with cigarette butts and dead fish parts
3. drive down to sheboygan for nice beaches & waterpark
get in the car, kids!
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5 comments:
Oh, I TOTALLY hear you!
We also live in a lake town where beaches are often closed due to e-coli or the like. No public swimming pool...and nothing else to do in the heat without driving an hour.
There's got to be an easier way!
Start a community activist group that is about holding beach clean-ups.
I know, I know, you have no time - seriously - until my daughter was ten, I had no time too - I can't imagine three kids then.
But, even if it was once a month this summer - get the word out - and even if only ten people show the first time, then maybe the second time there will be more?
And I wonder if there are seagull deterrents, like people put owls on top of their chimneys to keep other birds from nesting, maybe there are similar things to make those seagulls go away?
I think activism is in order. Letters to the editor. Pictures of your minions on the dirty beach, near cigarette butts. Mailed to the papers.
Oh no! I thought the water park was a done deal! There are lots of public pools in Milwaukee. Come on down and swim with us. :)
e. coli, eh? Poop ruins EVERYTHING!
(And, I was just kidding about you not having beaches. I'm worldly.)
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