Friday, April 01, 2005

It's Spring, Sort of

It's April First.

Normally, this is already the greatest day of the year (and I may repost my favorite prank from a column I wrote last year), but in addition to the wonder that is April Fool's Day, the neighborhood pool opens. This means that I will no longer have to trudge grimly to 24-Hour Dank Dungeon of Fitness to swim.

Swimming outdoors in good weather is a real pleasure. So when it was 80 degrees yesterday, I was looking forward to this swim as the start of a new season. I survived the dungeon. Now comes the reward.

I woke up this morning and it sounded like somebody was hurling furniture against the window. Or, in this case, trees. Winds steady at 30mph, with gusts over 40. Instead of the 80's, the high is going to be 65. That's parka weather down here.

So what am I going to do? Well, hell, I'm going to swim. What did you think I was going to do?

Fortunately, the Emperor of Pool, unlike me, is not insane. I went over at 9:00 and my card key didn't work, which means they haven't reprogrammed the gate yet. So even though I was looking forward to swimming in bone-chilling water and three foot swells, it looks like I'll be waiting until Sunday.

Dispirited, I drove over to 24-Hour Dank Dungeon of Fitness, and in spite of its generally bleak atmosphere, I had one beautiful moment. I was turning at the far end of the pool, and as I pushed off against the wall and began my glide, shafts of sunlight were flickering through the water, and I saw my arm extended, water rushing by, with the hair on my arm rippling like so many anemones, as if I was the bottom of the sea.

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