Dougherty Arts Center
Pools Please!
RECEIVED Wed., July 8, 2020
Dear Editor,
The closure of Barton Springs, Deep Eddy, and their brethren is akin to the War on Drugs in that it drives otherwise responsible citizens to iniquitous avenues to sate their appetites, in this case for a good, cold natural soak. Now that it’s hotter than blazes people are bound to find ways to swim, come hell or no (municipally sanctioned) water, and the kiddie pool ain’t gonna cut it. When swimming is criminalized, only criminals will be able to swim, at least among the general population. Meanwhile, the wealthy remain, as ever, aloof and exempt, free to ply their personal watercraft on Lake Travis or fiddle in their private natatoria while the rest of us wither and burn. If people were allowed to pursue swimming in a legal, masked, well-controlled environment – as the springs were for just shy of three glorious weeks in June – rather than huddled under bridges and in back-alley storm drains or cramped, fetid “Hill Country hot tubs,” we would all be safer, healthier, and happier, and the local economy would benefit. Just say yes! Regulate it, but don’t shut it down. Make Swimming Safe Again!
The closure of Barton Springs, Deep Eddy, and their brethren is akin to the War on Drugs in that it drives otherwise responsible citizens to iniquitous avenues to sate their appetites, in this case for a good, cold natural soak. Now that it’s hotter than blazes people are bound to find ways to swim, come hell or no (municipally sanctioned) water, and the kiddie pool ain’t gonna cut it. When swimming is criminalized, only criminals will be able to swim, at least among the general population. Meanwhile, the wealthy remain, as ever, aloof and exempt, free to ply their personal watercraft on Lake Travis or fiddle in their private natatoria while the rest of us wither and burn. If people were allowed to pursue swimming in a legal, masked, well-controlled environment – as the springs were for just shy of three glorious weeks in June – rather than huddled under bridges and in back-alley storm drains or cramped, fetid “Hill Country hot tubs,” we would all be safer, healthier, and happier, and the local economy would benefit. Just say yes! Regulate it, but don’t shut it down. Make Swimming Safe Again!
Katrin Abel
