waterslide bonding

Had a great weekend in Cedar Rapids. Yesterday LeAnn, Maddie and I went to the Cherry Hill "Aquatic Center" - you know, those things that used to be known as city pools! It's amazing how far the common city pool has come in twenty years or so. I realize I'm sounding a bit old and curmudgeonly when I say this, but when *I* was growing up, the pool was rectangular and had two things sticking out at one end, known as diving boards. Today, pools are SO much more kid-friendly. Now there's something called "zero depth entry" (a fancy phrase for ramp) so the wee ones can walk in the water slowly. This also has the added benefit, for those of use who like to warm up to the water gradually, of stringing out the process of acclimation even l o n g e r than usual!). There are large fountains shaped like flowers. There's even a set of large plastic lilypads that kids can hop across, just like in that Atari classic of yore, Pitfall!

And, needless to say, waterslides are everywhere. Cherry Hill has two - a standard, serpentine kind that winds around, and a second, steeper slide that goes almost straight down (known as a "drop" slide for those in the know). I did both. The serpentine slide was fun but not terribly thrilling. The drop slide, on the other hand, is just a little bit freaky. Part of the freakiness is that you can't actually SEE where you're going - the pitch is that steep! It's also roughly 75 feet high. I'll admit it - I was a wee bit tentative about doing it. But before I knew it, I was next in line and the fourteen year old lifeguard was telling me it was my turn. It was over in 3-4 seconds. For the first half second, you think, "This isn't so bad." Then, before you know it, you're in a near-free fall mode. I believe my butt actually lifted off the slide at one point! And as you're falling, you wonder just how many kids waiting at the bottom you're actually going to flatten as you careen out of control. But of course you don't. As quickly as you start, you're done.

The funny thing is, the second time I went up, everyone in the line was talking about the slide like it was a bonding experience. Suddenly, you share an intimate bond with people that you would never look twice at in the normal, workaday world. "Isn't this one awesome?" "I was a little freaked the first time." "You think you're gonna fall, but you're really not." "Yeah, man. I was trying to hydroplane at the end, but I lost my form."

In short, it was a blast. And I have to say, whoever has the job of actually designing public pools these days has one of the coolest jobs around. I feel just a little bit sad when I think about the lame pool I had grown up with. Who knows where I might've ended up if I had access to an "aquatic center"? And more importantly, who needs to look any farther that today's modern aquatic centers to see that good design does make a difference?