Pool_1

>> Charles Darling <<

As Frank explained the name his eyes would sometimes roll up, then sideways for comic effect. Nevertheless, the story was an exact accounting of the events which took place while the facility was still under construction. Fences had not yet defined the swimming area although the cement deck had just been finished. Water was almost fully up to level. Filling to the full depth took days longer than folks had guessed, not that it mattered. The Lou Costano Swimming Facility was not due to officially open for a while. There were many details in the construction still unattended, and besides, the kids were swimming in the puddles in the blasted stone even before the cement was poured. The granite digging, alone, held water quite well, as the nearby reservoir demonstrated, as the city fathers quietly noted. With the guard house just completed, though not yet completely appointed with water safety gear nor telephone communications, this was as good a time as any for a photo session of the mayor and his wife dedicating the place, free from the pesterings of the local rabble. The actual celebration, on paper, was to take place a month later, but how would anybody notice that this photo-op ribbon was not that ribbon except for, maybe, the lack of kids mugging silly faces or giving the finger? That was the whole point of today's unheralded pseudo event. The mayor lagged behind, looking at grounds details, as the camera crew hustled ahead in order to check lighting and set up best angles that would not give away the incompletion of the site. As his honor Thomas Stone was kicking at odd bits of construction here and there, his wife trod ahead to help organize the photographers who were drawn from both of the regional newspapers - more or less competitors. Actually, less. The News and the Mirror were both quietly