The familiar voice of Stew Leonard comes on the radio on 880 AM in New York City.  Listeners expect the owner of the iconic Stew Leonard’s chain of seven supermarkets in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey to say something clever about Thanksgiving turkeys or Fourth of July specials. Instead, he offers a very moving, chilling, very personal public service announcement about the death of his almost 2-year-old son in a drowning accident 31 years ago.  It goes something like this: “I thought my son was with her and she thought he was with me and by the time we connected and just minutes passed, we looked down the bottom of the pool and there he was.”

This tragedy sparked the Leonard parents to pledge that they would do everything in their power to prevent this tragedy from striking other families, since drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children under five. In 1990, Kim and Stew Leonard, founded the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation in memory of their son. Since this time, the Foundation has raised more than $2 million dollars to go towards water safety awareness and education, including lifeguard training and providing 10,000 free or low-cost swimming lessons to children every year.  https://stewietheduck.org/new-index.

Yesterday, I posted “https://howardblas.com/2020/06/09/the-summer-of-the-above-ground-pool/.  I was commenting on the number of families scrambling to find and install pools so their children will have something to this summer.  Two friends, both educators (early childhood and special education) commented when I posted the article on Facebook:

“It worries me to see these. I fear that people are buying them without installing the proper fences and alarms to prevent a neighbor child falling in and drowning. With an in ground pool, you would always take the necessary precautions, but with these, people are just buying them on Amazon without the fence.”

“We just put one up, our town has specific codes about above ground pools and fences. If it’s over a certain height you don’t need a fence but the stairs need to be removable or able to lock. I was nervous about setting it up without the proper electrical hookup and grounding so we have an electrician come out but I have watched so many friends run extension cords and that scares me!”

To prepare for a safe summer, consult the 20-page booklet “Safety Barrier Guidelines for Residential Pools,” published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):

https://www.poolsafely.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Safety-Barrier-Guidelines-for-Residential-Pools.pdf.

Also, “7 Rules for Having a Pool in Your Backyard:”  https://www.araglegal.com/individuals/learning-center/topics/home-and-property/pool-safety-tips-if-you-have-a-backyard-pool.  Rules, curtesy of ARAG (legal insurance), include:

1.  Install pool barriers

2.  Install anti-entrapment safety drain covers.

3.  Supervise children closely.

4.  Learn to swim.

5.  Prepare for emergencies by:

-Making sure everyone in your home takes water safety, first aid and CPR courses.

-Keeping rescue equipment by the pool, easily accessible and in good condition — such as life rings, floats or a reaching pole.

-Having a phone poolside with emergency numbers posted. Also post your address for the benefit of guests, babysitters or even your young children who might not have your address memorized.

-Sharing safety instructions and pool rules with family, friends, babysitters and neighbors.

6.  Institute pool rules

-Don’t go in or near the pool without an adult.

-No pushing.

-No running.

-No diving.

-If someone is in trouble, get help quick.

-Use the bathroom, not the pool!

7.  Know the legal risks of pool ownership

The authors report, “Every year, nearly 300 children under the age of five drown in swimming pools, making it the leading cause of accidental death for children in that age range. And 87 percent of those fatalities occur in backyard pools. In addition to drowning fatalities, more than 4,000 kids under five suffer non-fatal drowning injuries that require a visit to the E.R.” 

PLEASE take some time to carefully read these two articles.  And thank you to the Leonard Family for sharing your personal story of tragedy, to help prevent such tragedies for others.  Have a fun, safe summer!

I recently asked a camp colleague what she and her young children are doing this summer, now that the 8-week overnight camp program she directs is not happening.  “We bought a $400 above ground pool and are hoping for the best!” She is certainly not alone.   It seems the above ground pool has made a comeback.

A recent New York Times article was entitled, “Hoping to Buy an Above ground Pool to Salvage Summer? It May Be Too Late:  The hunt for pools is fierce as homeowners search for ways to stay cool in the safety of their backyards.”  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/nyregion/coronavirus-above-ground-pools.html

A similar article was entitled, “Coronavirus: Sales of above-ground pools, RVs spike as people seek summer alternatives.”  https://abc7ny.com/coronavirus-nj-reopen-new-jersey-update-news/6195887/

Finally, “Backyard pool sales booming as coronavirus keeps us stuck at home this summer.”  https://www.nj.com/news/2020/05/backyard-pool-sales-booming-as-coronavirus-keeps-us-stuck-at-home-this-summer.html

A few things I learned from these articles:

-Sheri Neuberger, the office manager of Metro Pools in Kinnelon, said the requests for new in-ground pools have been pouring in. They usually do about 30 pools a season, but so far they’ve received about 1,000 requests for a price.

-Scott Clark, of Somertime Pool and Spa in Millville, said requests for above-ground pools have increased about 30% in recent weeks. He chalks that up to families receiving their stimulus checks, and the ease of selling a pool over the phone.

As I have written in previous posts, families with children of nearly every age are in a bind this summer.  Very few overnight (and day) camps are operating, few jobs or internships are available, and most people don’t have the time or inclination to drive an RV cross country.  And no parent wants their child indoors on a screen all summer. 

I suspect many of us who grew up in the suburbs “back in the day” spent a good part of the day in our above ground pools.   May be time to refresh your memory on how to chlorinate a pool, and how to play Marco Polo.  Here is a useful article entitled, “Pool Chlorine:  What It IS, How It Works, And How To Use It Effectively.” https://poolonomics.com/pool-chlorine/

Here are “24  Fun Swimming Pool Games” to keep you and your kids occupied: https://www.swimmingpool.com/pool-living/pool-fitness/pool-games/ 

But first, good luck finding a pool!

The decision to close most Jewish summer camps this summer was agonizing.   There were dozens of factors to consider in whether or not to open camp.  There were many practical and safety questions—for example, how to:   assure social distancing, effectively and accurately test campers and staff, manage potential outbreaks in camp infirmaries, practically and ethically deal with issues of potentially overwhelming small town hospitals in the event of huge increase in cases, etc.

At some point, camps began to wonder– at what point does camp STOP being summer camp when the usual offerings can’t be offered.  For example, what is summer camp with no Israelis (many bring 50 or more as part of the mishlachat/Israeli delegation), no out of camp trips, no visitors day, no visitors, strict policies on packages and deliveries, no staff days off, no visiting musicians or rabbis, no sports competitions with “rival” camps, etc.   There was also talk of the need to potentially exclude people with various medical vulnerabilities.  That didn’t feel to camps who strive to be inclusive.  Some directors and boards of directors reasoned, “When camp doesn’t look like camp, may be it is not worth running camp!”

This is where the US Open comes in to the picture.  I love tennis as much as I love camp.   I long for my three post-camp weeks at the US Open, writing for various publications.  I will personally be sad IF the US Open doesn’t take place.  It would mean no player interviews and articles, no seeing friends from around the world in the media center, no late night matches, no watching up and coming juniors, no watching the extraordinary athletes who play in wheelchair tennis.  

To be clear, no one knows yet if the US Open will take place.  According to an article in the 6/2 New York Times:  “U.S. Open Could Go On, With a 2-Tournament Bubble in New York,” there are many scenarios under consideration [ www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/sports/tennis/us-open-new-york.html]. But the important camp-like question remains:  at what point will the US Open no longer feel like the US Open.

According to the article:

– If the tournaments can be held, there would most likely be no spectators on site — a major shift for the U.S. Open, a Grand Slam tournament that attracted more than 850,000 fans last year over three weeks.

-Even without fans or most stadium workers, rigorous testing would still be required at the tennis center to monitor and protect players, support staff and officials…Once on site, there would be daily temperature checks and health questionnaires, as well as frequent follow-up testing for the virus.

-There may be quarantine rules that could require some athletes to self-isolate after arriving in the United States and again in Europe after returning

-Wheelchair tennis is unlikely but has not been ruled out.

-The junior and legends events would be eliminated.

-There would be no ball kids, but adult ball persons would still be used to facilitate play; they would be required to wear gloves but not be allowed to handle player towels.

-There has been discussion of changing the format of men’s singles matches at the U.S. Open from best-of-five sets to best-of-three sets to reduce players’ injury risk

-The size of tennis entourages will be reduced (persons only one support person)

-To protect their health, players could be restricted to an official hotel, probably outside Manhattan, where they would have access to treatment, training and testing, and be transported directly to the tennis center in Queens.

-Qualifying tournaments are likely to be scrapped and doubles competitions to be included with reduced draws of 24 teams, but no final decisions have been made.

I love camp.  I am sad without camp.  I am moving on and looking very forward to next summer.  I love tennis.  I will be sad if there is no US Open.  We must continue to ask—at what point does the US Open stop being the US Open? 

I have had RV travel on my mind since my trips to Wyoming and Colorado last summer.  Bill Morris, founder of Blue Star Recyclers, suggested I rent a Winnebego and drive cross country with a film crew– , “On the Road with Charles Kurault”-style, visiting creative job sites training and employing people with disabilities. 

I had stopped in Denver to visit several amazing job sites including Blue Star, an extraordinary computer recycling company (with locations in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs and now Chicago):   https://howardblas.com/2019/08/08/blue-star-recyclers/.  They train and hire many young adults with disabilities to disassemble computers and other electronics for recycling. 

To date, I have visited and written about 23 job sites, from pizza stores, to car washes, breweries, book stores, sock companies and cafes.  https://howardblas.com/disabilities/job-sites/).   I would LOVE to follow Bill’s suggestion and drive across this amazing country, visiting creative job sites.   This may not be the summer.

First, businesses are just now, slowly getting back on their feet, post COVID-19. Not sure I’d be able to visit and meet the founders and employees at the job sites I’d like to see.  Second, it is nearly impossible to rent or even buy an RV these days.   With people nervous about air travel and staying in hotels, the motor home offers the perfect travel solution—it is self-contained and has a kitchen, toilet and shower—not need for food in restaurants, or public bathrooms on the road.  According to a June 2nd article in the New York Post, “RV rentals have increased 1,000 percent since April, while RV sales jumped 600 percent in the same time period.” https://nypost.com/2020/06/02/people-rent-rvs-in-droves-for-fun-safe-adventures-amid-chaos/.

Driving a 32-foot RV may not be everyone’s cup of tea—but it sure offers the chance for families with kids of all ages to have a great family adventure—seeing this beautiful country, being together, and finding a meaningful alternative to cancelled overnight camps.  (There are other camping options as well–from pop up campers to travel trailers).  Let me know how it goes—maybe next year will be my summer!