Potter_Land

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A Land comm for all things Harry Potter. Apply here to join one of the four house teams and participate in challenges.

Please, Please Learn How to Swim

It's summer again so I'm making this plea again.

Please learn how to swim. If this is impossible, please make sure the children in your life know how to swim.

Pasco is coming up with a budget and public pools aren't in it. "It seems like so many subdivisions have pools and people have pools," Commissioner Pat Mulieri said.

That's not my impression but whatever, I guess when you and all your rich friends have pools, you tend to forget about the poor.

You see, those public pools offer low cost swim lessons. Mine were just 25 dollars 15 years ago or so. The poor is most at risk. They're more likely to be swimming in less than ideal conditions: rivers, lakes, ditches, abandoned pools. If they get in trouble, they might have a buddy to save them...or they might not and definitely no lifeguard.

Last year, a study was released from USA Swimming that 69% of black children and 58% of Latino children have either no or low swimming ability. Drowning is the leading cause of death among those under 5 and Florida has twice as many deaths as the national average, but taking away a source of preventing that number from being even higher? GREAT idea!

(sigh)

I understand how it's better to close a pool than a library. However, I wrote them about trying to establish partnerships between the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs and available pools. Really, swimming should be a required course like Algebra or Critical Thinking.

So, while you can, please make sure the kids around you can swim and if you can and you feel you're not a good enough swimmer, take some lessons yourself. CPR is also a good idea.

Please also this summer, you might have abandoned houses in your neighborhood. If they have pools, check on them from time to time to make sure all gates are properly secured and that no one's been hopping the fence. If it has water, it could be irresistible to kids and if it doesn't, then it'd be irresistible to skateboarders...yes, I'm old, that's what we called them in the 80s when we all had boards. Either way, an abandoned pool can be very dangerous and we don't want anyone getting hurt or killed.