Playing Hookey

Kept running up against blank walls. Tried to get
Buckie's hair clipped- too hot for him in this August
heat- the dog groomer had gone out of business.

Went to get me clipped- the hairdresser had just left.
Tried to place a classified ad, but the deadline for
classifieds had been changed and I had just missed it.

So the only sensible thing to do was to say the hell
with it all and go swimming.

I don't like swimming in friends' and relatives' little
pools. The warm water and limited laps make me
think of swimming in a bathtub. My favorite swim-
ming hole is at Little River in Mouth Park. That's
the Canyon Mouth Park. Little River Canyon winds
along Lookout Mountain inside Alabama, the
deepest gorge east of the Mississippi. The turbulent
waters attract whitewater enthusiasts, and its falls
plunge past rocks and fossils that are millions and
millions of years old. But I drive to the park where
the river, having left the mountain, flows gently, with
broad expanses easily accessible to swimmers.

I didn't go all last year because of the drought,
certain that the water would be low and turgid.
But with all the rainfall this past spring and
summer I thought it should be better this year.
And so it was, but still not the pleasant swimming
place I remember.

The water was warm and I could easily have walked
from bank to bank, had to wade out quite a way to
get in water deep enough for swimming. Silt and leaf
debris floated up with my every step, clouding the
water and making it seem unclean.

In other years- and I have been going to this park
for more than 20- the water was pleasantly cold,
the current swift enough to continuously refresh
and cleanse the swimming area, but not so swift as
to threaten a less-than-expert swimmer.

When I first began going there to swim, it was an
Alabama State Park with attendants who patrolled
the area to ensure that everyone obeyed their many
posted do's and dont's. I was delighted when the
Feds took it over about 16 years ago, did away with
the signs and the patrolling, added the Little River
Canyon National Preserve to the National Park
System. I once overheard one of the State Park
workers saying that people liked coming to the park
because Blacks were kept out. I kept watching to
see how this was carried out, and could find no
evidence. The ostracism must have been effected
in subtle ways, which is not unusual for this area of
the South.

There have been Blacks since the park became part
of the national park system, and now it's a favorite of
hispanics who come by the carful with lots of little
children. I don't go on weekends, for I've been told
it's crowded then, the water thick with bodies, the
grills and stone picnic tables all occupied.

I have many times left home at 6 p.m. to arrive in the
park at 6 Alabama time with 2 whole hours left until
the park closed at 8. And I have frequently been the
only evening swimmer, just me gliding through the
water under a blue, blue sky, or floating through
water so clear that I could watch the fish below me.

The official word is that the drought continues despite
all the rain and that it would take three more years of
normal rainfall to recover. The river may not be fully
recovered next year, but surely it will be better-
cleaner, deeper, closer to the swimming place that I
have treasured. I surely hope so. I shall keep looking
toward next summer, and I will go again this year
even if it's not as great as I'd like. It's still better than
swimming in bathtubs or in overcrowded public pools.

Will the Stimulus Stimulate the Economy?

Did anyone really believe that the "stimulus" check hand-
outs would revive the economy?

Unemployment and food prices still rising, and talk now
of a second "stimulus" package needed, as in "well, we
threw that money down a hole and it disappeared from
sight, so maybe we better fling some more after it."

About half those responding to one poll said they'd pay
on their debts. One report stated that many were spending
at least part of their money on websites offering
pornography. Most of these are located in other countries
so the U.S. won't benefit much but the speculation was
that embattled consumers had an urge to stimulate
themselves.

Spend it on gas was another response. Although it's now
about 30 cents less per gallon, a tank full takes a huge
chunk out of most workers' paychecks.

I'm among those who will be be giving the oil magnates what
will amount to small change for them. My $300 will just about
cover the increase in the price of 300 gallons of propane. I'll
be spending about the same amount of my own money- plus
the "stimulus" check- to keep icicles from forming on my bod
this winter. I don't think either the economy or myself is
going to be stimulated, but I guess it's better than waiting for
the Bush tax cuts to the rich to trickle down. That trickling
petered out long before it reached my level.