Confessions of a former lifeguard

Creston built a new pool some 15 or so years ago - despite the modern look the noises are the same as my lifeguarding years

On my walk route today I ambled (but on a quick pace Deb, I swear) by Creston's public pool. Certain things in life take me back to my lifeguarding days. Songs of the day, pool noises, the way the sun sometimes shines on my face at a particular angle...I can't explain it - but that too takes me back.

What can I say - it's the best possible job a kid can have. And I had it that summer after my freshman year of college - the summer of 1977. It's a great job especially when you're working for the Merrick girls - Cindi and Marci (perhaps one of the nicest peeps you'll ever know) and with the rest of a great cast of characters, some of my best buddies. Sally Rodgers (of course was my longtime friend and college roomie, gorgeous but anaware, dorkily funny, smart and loyal). But others became good friends - Kim Waters (who became my sidekick homegirl that summer), Cindy Hmmm last name is escaping me? lived near Lally's. Thank you Ted - who filled in the blank. Cindy Sheppard (another very nice kid I got to know & corrupt that summer), Nellie Juhl (our resident hippy), Cathy Hjortshoj (so funny and cool) and Julia Hoilien (I recently blogged about how much I admire this chick) worked the treat stand with her mom. Candice Drake filled in as a sub. I know I'm forgetting people. Todd Pellett was one guy - I'm sure there were others. Ted Simpson taught swimming lessons.

It was a pretty vigorous schedule - at least during swimming lesson season. I'd go to the pool at 8 or 9 in the morning and be there through 9 at night. But what else did I have to do? I got one day off a week. I'm sure my mother appreciated having me out of the house. In fact she invited me not to come home after the summer after my freshman year. That fun for ya Mom?

A typical day: I would arrive at the pool in my 1977 Red Chevy Monza hatchback - just prior to 8 or 9 a.m. For four weeks in the summer the Red Cross hosted swimming lessons. For the first two weeks "city" kids attended. Their moms would drop them off - some sticking around to watch little junior swim. Other kids rode their bikes to lessons. Often Fantastic Faye - a local figure would hang out outside the fence on his own bike "Silver".

During the next two weeks, it was the "country" kids turn - delivered from places likes Cumberland and Anita in big yellow school buses. Skinny and chubby lilly white kids with plastic bags containing their towels, some with pink nose plugs. Shivering in the cold morning air - in the unheated pool.

I earned every penny of my ($2.25/hr?) teaching under the tutelage of Grand Puba Nancy Pellett, who was following in the footsteps of Betty Lou Pellett. Mom had once taught lessons with Betty Lou, so I was a pool rat from way back.

This was before Red Cross came up with fancy names for swimmer levels. We had Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Intermediate and Swimmer. Of course there were a gazillion beginners - to graduate they had to front float and back float. Some kids are just sinkers and ya gotta feel bad for them. But this is one time when a chunky kid can shine when they float like a cork! We did have "aids" (14 year old helpers) to assist instructors, but darn it sometimes I had to get into that frigid water to instruct. (I bet those parents watching were thinking - "about time!" I know that now that I have viewed similar situations as a parent). All in all - I learned a lot as a swim instructor. Like I knew I didn't want to be a teacher!

After wearing myself out instructing for 3 to 4 hours, I usually had an hour break before I needed to begin guarding lives. Sometimes I got a takeout sannie from pizza hut. Why did they do away with their hoagies with Italian dressing, man they were good! If I didn't go there, Lally's next door or the former A&W - now called Town and Country Drive In. Mona Jones worked there - she'd whip me up a patented Dr. Pepper float with fries. If all else failed, I went home - "Hi mom I'm here to make mess and eat your food."

At one the pool opened for biz. The kids came streaming in. We were daycare for many of them - a pool pass is a cheap alternative to a sitter. Little guys - Dusty and Ricky are two names that come to mind - would arrive in just their trunks with a towel. They were to entertain themselves all day at that pool.

Each pin was numbered

Work/study staff, low income high school kids, helped man the office, checking passes, taking money and dealing with baskets. What baskets you ask? Sunnyside Pool (what a cheery name) didn't have lockers, we had baskets and changing rooms. Each basket had a corresponding pin - a sturdy looking thing that could be quite a weapon if need be!

This blog is getting a bit long (I'm a windy old broad), so I'll start a Part 2 later. We're (meaning Paul, due to my unfortunate shoulder problem) painting the kitchen this weekend and I've got errands to run. And despite the poker-like pain (I know I'm milking it) I plan to clean everything from the top of the kitchen cupboards that just didn't look that dirty until we got it down. I have an appointment to see a surgeon on the 24th since therapy doesn't seem to be helping. Dang it's hell to grow old. It's likely an old lifeguarding injury - blew my whistle once too often or something...

Back to the Standard

It's been a long time. In fact I hadn't been to our fave DSM bar, The Standard, since Pablo headed for the hills. Creston that is - in the hills of Southern Iowa, when Paul's temp job in in the big city was completed in April. Today that changed.

the floor is beautiful inlaid tile

Today I had an Environmental Management System workshop at the Ola Babcock Miller State Library Building near the Iowa State Capitol. I love that place - so full of artsy touches. And there's something about working where there's a cannon in the yard...

After the workshop, I took our consultants - two visitors from Ohio to The Standard. Both Cory and Tom seemed to enjoy the place just as much as I do. They tried local brews from Newton.

Cory at left, just became engaged to be married in September. Jeff is the bartender. Tom on right is building a new home in Ohio.

Jeff the bartender remembered me, after I ordered my signature lemondrop (only 1...I was driving). There was a musician that started at 5 p.m. - we quite enjoyed his tunes. Cory and I ordered the fish tacos and they were yummy! It was nice to be back, but I missed having my honey by my side...

I'm such a freakin' baby

And it makes me mad! Geeeez. My friend Thea is battling cancer - 2 kinds! And I'm all down in the dumps about shoulder pain. What a wimp.

Thea tells me she's starting a new regimen of chemo now. You may recall she has multiple myeloma and kidney cancer. F'n stuff. She just got out of the hospital again - after getting a port put in to drain her lung. Yet when people visit she remains upbeat. What a lady!

Me? I went through the removal of Imelda, my unusual tumor last February. She (a tiny painful blob) was in my left elbow. Then in March I started feeling pain in my right shoulder. What the hell? Is it from my Wii workout routine? I have no idea. But the thing continues to get more and more painful.

A few weeks ago I broke down and saw Sheryl Young ARNP about it. She set me up with Geri the Physical Therapist. I was sure I was on the road to recovery, But so far not...it's still damn sore. My shoulder blade is winging out. Geri says I need to retrain it and tuck it back in. (Geri and fam love hot air balloons and therefore Creston and Balloon Days).

Last week I broke down and called Sheryl again, complaining about the constant pain. She agreed to give me a steroid shot on Thursday. Once I got the shot, I felt immediate relief - at least right at the site of the shot. Movements that had hurt before were not painful. Other parts of my arm still hurt but not the back of my shoulder.

At least until I decided to ride my bike. I could have sat around all weekend - and maybe I'd still feel better. But I was happy to ride my bike with Paul. Until later, when the should began hurting. And it's hurt ever since. So now I've had an XRay, which showed nothing, and I'm set up to see a surgeon in a couple weeks. Good thing too cuz I felt half queasy today due to pain. And mad. What a wienie!

It's number 901!

• I am a prolific blogger, yes indeedy! I just noticed that my Jim and Lindsay blog was number 900. Wow. That's a lot of writing. Mostly about nothing. And the stuff of my life. You know what that means...I've been commuting for a long time!

• Tonight I picked up my supper (a chicken sannie) at Charley's Steakery and Fresh Grilled Subs at Jordan Creek Mall. Yeah, deciding where to eat was a big decision...but the sample guy got me. Good marketing! I got a big kick out of the order-taker. She said something like (insert foreign accent).

"What you like Ladeee? You want fries with that Ladeee?" You know it just takes an attitude like that to make a difference in this world. There are a lot of people standing around waiting for others to hand them a living. This woman learned a language and works hard every day. Making me chuckle along the way.

• Paul reported to night that Odie the Wonder dog killed a baby bird. She had feathers coming out of her mouth like Sylvester the Cat on cartoons. He texted me "Killer Doggy". I bet she feels very self-satisfied.
• Our dog big 'ol wiener dog Jud (1958-1973 - yes, I named my son after my dog) used to hunt rabbits all the time. We had a clay drain pipe that stuck into our yard from our house. Rabbits loved to hang out in there and taunt him. We'd get Jud all excited pointing and yelling "Rabbit Jud Rabbit". He'd dig around the pipe and bark. I don't think he ever caught a rabbit though.

• Today is Mom's 83rd birthday - nearly 15 years after she died. I wonder what kind of old lady she would have been? Now that Susi is 60, 68 really doesn't sound all that old. I really wish she could have found the strength to quit smoking when she was younger - like in her 40's. Would it have made a difference? I don't know but I'd like to think so.  

Lindsay and Jim got married

It's been a long time coming. Jimmy Ide and Lindsay Grose dated eight years. Yesterday they were married on a beautiful June Saturday in front of 350 people. Father Kenkel, bless his heart, tried to start the ceremony without the bride!

Jim is the son of Dan and Barb Ide. He attended St. Malachy School, just a year behind Amy and is now back working in Creston as a pharmacist at HyVee after graduating from the U of I last year. Lindsay also graduated from Iowa with a 4 year radiation technologist degree. Her mom Susan is one of my homegirls. I admire Susan, who works for the Dept. of Human Services, a great deal. She's fun and easy to talk to. Her husband Brian, besides being a hottie, is really nice.

Back to the wedding: The groom carefully seated all the grandparents and parents. The bridal party walked in the the music played joyfully by Linn Baker. And Father said an opening prayer. I looked at Paul like??? What the??

Then Linn quickly played the bridal march so Dick Grose could walk his daughter up the aisle. I'm sure Father was at first confused (he's in his 80's) and then embarrassed. But he said something like - "whoops, guess we better not do this without the bride!"

Thank goodness the ceremony was co-celebrated with Reverend Pete Brantner, who kept Fr. K on track the rest of the time. Pete did the homily, telling the story of how Jim proposed to Lindsay in a hot air balloon in Arizona. Pete talked about the couple's commitment to each other. I like hearing good speakers - pastors like Pete, talk about marriage. It helps reaffirm my feelings for Paul. Not like I'm wavering or anything...but it's just good to hear a relationship pep talk once in a while. It's been 30 years ago since someone said those words directly to us, you know! We really had no idea what we were in for.

The reception was fun! The speeches by the co-best men, Patrick Walsh and Andy Ide were very touching. You can tell they think so much of this couple. The food was great - barbecued chicken and beef. The cake was great too. There were cookies in the shape of...you guessed it - hot air balloons, thanks to Jim's cousin Kaylie Crittenden.

Nearly all my homegirls were there. Nancy was a bit tired, after running the Dam to Dam in Des Moines (12 miles) earlier in the day. Patti, Deb, Diana, Joan Weis, Mendy.

We were excited that Jud and Kara had decided to stop and stay with us on their way home from Ames that night. We talked them into coming by the reception as Jud knew both the bride and groom. Fun to see him chatting with Creston peeps. And I got to do a little dancin' of course! Love Shack - my wedding fave, and my girls always gotta dance it with me. Good night.

Have a great life Jim and Lindsay! You sure started it right.

Mediacom customer service

Our cable wasn't working this morning when we got up. My Sunday morning ritual is to watch the CBS Morning Show, while drinking coffee. I thought perhaps it was a temp thing. Alas it wasn't.

After three calls to Mediacom Customer Service, it looks as if our card has gone bad. They tried resetting things from their end - nothing happened. When it looked as if we'd need a service call the rep told me it would be June 12th before they could get here to our home, between 8 a.m. and noon. Right. No wonder they're ranked last in customer satisfaction.

They keep jacking up rates, adding channels we don't want (The Big 10 Channel...really?). But they don't have enough techs to come to our house for over a week? We personally know people who work there. That's crap service. Hire some techs!

Paul brought our bedroom TV out to watch for now, but the lower channels do not come in well. Grrrr. I'm not a happy camper and I'd think the company would want to keep people like me happy - customers since 1988 they told me when I called today...we might have to consider our options.

I shopped at WalMart (politics alert)

I know - that's nothing new. But it is! Pablo and I have boycotted WalMart for the past few weeks. And then we broke 'em down.

You see I have had my ups and downs with the giant corporation. They're a company you love to hate. They took over small towns and ran out other stores. But when you think about it, some of the small stores weren't changing with the times - so was that their own fault? And WalMart has done some good things for the environment - forcing suppliers to "green up" when others couldn't get it done.

Why the boycott this time? ALEC - the acronym for American Legislative Council, the conservative advocacy group that has been a lightning rod over voting and gun laws. Until yesterday, the behemoth had been a prime member of ALEC. When I heard that, I decided to take action. In Creston, there aren't all that many alternatives for some products. So it was a bit of a hardship to give them up. And our local Walmart does good things for this town - they were there for people after the tornado. But what about how they treat their employees? Oh they mix me up so...

On the good side of the boycott, it was a chance to recall how nice it is to shop at other local stores. No matter what, I'll keep spreading my business around. I had gotten lazy and I won't do that again.

Evidently the loss of Goldsmith $$ took its toll, because WalMart caved and quit ALEC. wink wink.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/walmart-alec-membership_n_1558833.html

Several corporations felt the heat after the tragic death of Trayvon Martin in Florida - seemingly the result of over-the-top right to defend laws pushed by ALEC. Coca Cola, Kraft, Bill & Melinda Gates, and Proctor and Gamble are other companies ditching the group. They all say the original purpose of the group has "morphed" beyond what they had intended.

Would I feel the same way if some libbie leftie group came together to "suggest" legislation to lawmakers at the state level around the country? I believe so. I think each state has enough intelligent people to come up with their own laws. We don't need encouragement from these types of outside groups - be they left or right. They seem to be driven by extremists, who may have ulterior motives (to sell more guns perhaps?).

Anyway - WalMart is out - boycott over!

Shopping around Creston is fun.
First I had a pedicure. In Waukee, when I get one I usually read a magazine the whole time. The manicurist doesn't speak English well, and frankly we don't have all that much in common. At Hair House - my manicurist turned out to be one of Jud's classmate's mom. So we chatted the whole time. She gets migraines and has a shoulder problem too. So we had a lot in common, besides Curtiss and Jud. She even asked about Amy. Her youngest will be a senior in HS next year - and I remember him in diapers. sigh.

Next I stopped at the library. Sue the librarian called me by name when I entered the building.

At WalMart, Assistant Manager Will and Amy's classmate Dusty who works there each said "hello". I knew the woman in line ahead of me at in the speedy lane. She said "hi" and asked me how I was. She was talking to the kid checking us about plays. I jumped in to comment about how much I love "Lion King". I can spend a whole week in DM without hardly talking to people waiting on me. I realize it's mostly because I don't come across as wanting to talk. But in Creston - I let my guard down. There's something about small town life.