Barbara J. Hamby

Gossip Around the Pool

Now that I’m trying to practice more healthy habits, I no longer go to Starbucks (don’t drink coffee) or bars (don’t use alcohol), life could get pretty boring. But that’s not the case. Interesting characters hang out at the swimming pool to regale me with gossip and fascinating ideas.

Today a vegetarian, who paddles around the pool on a noodle and laughs about how she fell off it once, shared a theory she has come up with. She thinks the reason there are so many homosexuals these days is because of the hormones injected into the animals that become our meat. She’s not a scientist, nor am I, but the idea is intriguing.

I did suggest to her that there might not actually be more homosexuals today; they are just more visible—not hiding in closets as in the past. She agreed that’s a possibility.

There are tidbits of juicy gossip about people I may or may not know who live in this retirement community—about a lonely widower who hits on nearly every woman who comes to the pool or hot tub. Then there’s the preacher who talks constantly and wants to save us all.

The super seniors who come to the pool are a good influence on all of us. Several are in their 90’s and quite active.

The thought that I might miss out on something is one motivator to get me to the pool at least five days a week. Watching the numbers go down on the scale doesn’t hurt either.