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the public pool

I grew up on a country club golf course. No I didn't have friends named Muffy. I didn't get a Benz when I turned 16. And my parents didn't spring for the name brand jeans ( Guess, Cavaricci, Gibeeaud or Calvin Klein...if that dates me). I never owned a white tennis skirt.....but I did play. I would run ( fearing for my life) across the driving range to play tennis or swim. I was never all that comfortable there. Once I took my friends ( that did not live on the golf course) and they jokingly started singing the 90210 theme song as I signed us in. Suddenly it donned on me that this was not how most of the world lived. My parents worried and argued enough about money that I never realized we had any.
When I say we, I mean them.

This summer I purchased pool passes for me and O. Public pool passes. I am not trying to make any kind of political statement ...although I might if I had the choice to make. The public pool was really the only thing in our price range.

But I like it. It is a big fat mixture of the world. There are more tattoos than plastic parts. There are more races than name brands. There are nachos at the concession stand instead of martinis (and I love nachos). I am more likely to get sprayed with a water gun than given a dirty look for getting someone in the pool "wet". Hardly anyone has on make up or has their hair done. No one bothers to comment on the fact that O's bathing suit is on backwards ( he dresses himself these days...what can I say). The fact that my last pedicure was last summer doesn't seem to bother anyone......nor does the hail damage.

Ok, so I am not stupid. I do make sure that I lock my car door. I try to avoid the bathrooms ( let's just say they do not have deodorant, hair spray and lotion on the counter.....or any fresh white towels). It is crowded but somehow more comfortable than the country club I remember.

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