Swimming Pools and Politics

 

Dear you,

While the J6 rally was pretty lame yesterday, the poison consumed by millions of the benighted is still very popular, poison pimped as political nutrition. We are doing what we can, I suppose, to toss their toxins into another dustbin of history, but nothing seems to be working.  They don’t care, here or anywhere.  The “here” in Seagrove Beach analogy for ingesting poison mindlessly happened earlier this week.

Our west pool needed repair, the pool under my balcony. Monday/Tuesday, I noticed dudes at the pool mucking about.  A few hours later, I noticed the pool was slowly emptying.  I assumed there was some kind of pump taking the water to a big vat, and later they’d dispose of the chemically loaded (plus visitor urine loaded) goop in an approved/safe area.  I was wrong again.  More hours later, when I exited to run errands, the south parking lot was flooded with noxious pool water.  It was running towards the beach road and open storm drains.  The smell was gag-worthy. The chlorine in the air caused coughs, watery eyes, and maybe worse.  The guests noticed, coughing and eye leaking just like me, but didn’t care.  They were just pissed off that one of the two pools was closed.

Days later, the smell remained.  The condo complex should have been shut down by the EPA or OSHA or something.  This lazy choice by the HOA board/management got no blowback here in #DeathSantis Country where everyone is free to pollute at will, consume the poison of one’s choice, and spread toxic misinformation.  I know their reasons.  Money.  It would cost us to do it right.  I hate them.  Not much I can say to stop their privileging of money above all.  A toxic state of mind.

Pools and politics.  Orlando, Florida, a more civilized part of the state, has some rules about the former that should be applied to the latter:

“Do not drain your pool water into streets, gutters, or storm drains.”  Applied version: Do not spread your lies on social media sites, bumper stickers, or Fox & Friends.

“High levels of salts, chlorine, or other chemicals can make its way into waterways harming aquatic organisms and wildlife.”  Applied version: High levels of paranoia, science-denial, or other forms of ignorance can make their ways into public forums, harming those of us who have to share space with reactionaries and tinfoil hat wearers.

“Pumping the water directly into a sanitary sewer clean out is also not permitted.”  Applied version: Pumping the filth directly into a Matt Gaetz podcast is also not permitted.

Good luck getting those regulations passed in this zip code.

As for now, the effects on site at the Villas linger.  I haven’t seen birds in my holly tree, the palms and pines or even the bushes lately.  Is there a connection?  Perhaps.

The visitors don’t care.  All they know is the pool is back open and they can swim (and pee) without a care in the world.  The cost of their refreshed cement pond was only environmental.  A non-issue.  Poison apparently is a matter of opinion too.

Still here, dodging toxins of all kinds,

Your Joyce