Temper temper

On Wednesday, Sio had a half day off from work (camp counselor), and in the afternoon, we got my pool pass renewed and headed over to the pool to swim.

I swim at a pool that is actually a combination pond/pool. There are 50 yard lap lanes there, which is great for serious swimmers, but good for me, too, because I work harder than I would if I had short lanes. On Wednesday evening, my former swim teacher, Lori, was there. Lori is quite possible the nicest, most positive, upbeat person I've ever met in my life. 8 years ago, she was terrified to go into the water, now she's a lifeguard and swimming teacher. I just love her.

Anyway, she mentioned that she had an advanced swim class starting in about 15 minutes, and since this was my first time swimming in several months, I figured I would just go in, swim halfway down and back, and leave it at that, which is what I did. There are steps right next to the lap lanes, so I pulled out my current book (Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs) and sat and read while I dried off.

Lori's class showed up, and they had just enough lanes for each of her students. They were just warming up when this very fit looking man showed up. He looked like a Man of Industry and Importance, with his straight back, long legs, well muscled abdomen, and serious face.

And then he opened his mouth and had a temper tantrum.

"You are taking up all the lanes!"

Lori said "I'm sorry, sir, we'll be here until 7pm; in the meantime, there are several pools that have adult lap swim right now."

"But this is the only pool with 50 yard laplanes! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Sir, I'm sorry, this is the pool our class was assigned to use."

"Look at your class - I'll bet half of them can't even make it to the other end. This is totally unfair. Who can I talk to to get your class removed from this pool?"

"You can call the waterfront director tomorrow morning, sir, if you have a complaint."

"No, I want his cell phone number. I demand to speak with him now. This is ridiculous. These lanes are for serious athletes!"

I looked at one of the class members, who looked absolutely mortified. "He's pretty whiney for a serious athlete, don't you think?" I said.

I so wanted to get involved, but Lori was able to diffuse his temper.

Anyway, I went to the pool today, and I swam 200 yards (I work my way up slowly), and as I was drying off, the big baby showed up. I wanted to ask him how much he paid for his pool pass, because then I could tell him I paid the same amount, and so I was just as entitled to use the lap lanes as a serious athlete like himself. But my blood was boiling just at the sight of him.

He parked his car (an Audi, in case you hadn't already guessed) right next to mine in the parking lot, and I was sorely tempted to let my car door slam right into his, but I didn't.