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My mother was taught that if she ever peed in a public pool a purple cloud would surround her. That is what she taught us.

Then we had our own pool. We kept it clean as I tested the water every day and added whatever chemicals we needed and never soiled something for which I and my sister took care.

We had to wear bathing caps and keep toads out of the filter basket. I cleaned that as well. A dead toad is worse that a few strands of hair. Then we went to the beach. We were required to wear bathing caps. I thought I rightly asked, “why, so our hair doesn’t go down the drain in the Atlantic Ocean?” In a well-choreographed skit my little sister and I dove down under a wave and ditched those caps under the sand.

Years later in another location I tried to get permission from the government for legal leash-free areas for dog owners. What did the government say? There will be poop. No. Because responsible pet owners pick up after their own pets and others. We had limited success after a six-year travail.

We pay taxes for those parks and should be allowed to use them. I wanted something for our park that worked perfectly, before and after hours when no-one else was there, no fence. At the end every child in the tot lot called out my dog’s name and ran to pet her. She was abused for a year, and left to a shelter. I rehabilitated her. She was afraid of men (especially the Deputy Sheriff who abused her) and children, because she was kept in a fenced yard and kids used to throw rocks at her. She died during this cause and I am only sorry that I spent so much time at community and government meetings and not with my girl.

In this case I believe the opposition (five people vs. 2,000) gave a few hundred dollars to campaigns and mostly beat us by consigning mud holes and studio apartment-sized areas. I wrote a great piece back then. When I find it, if you’d like I’ll share it. Oh, dogma, Zoe, is on my side of the bed with my husband. I’ll move her into the middle soon.

Every animal in the ocean eliminates. No-one cleans up after them, so why should we be required to wear bathing caps and not be allowed to have our dog chase a ball for 20 minutes when they’re well-behaved and we do clean up after them and the kiddos love them? Quandary.

There is something to be said for compromise and lack of hypocrisy. I had to tell a seven year-old that my dog was gone. He was on the other side of the bushes, away from his older brother. He demanded me to tell him what happened. I did, he cried. Going outside the bushes I advised him to tell his big brother and his older friends that he cried because Dee yelled at him for ……. That is not lying, it’s friendship. I hope he’s having a great time in college. They got a dog through me, and I hope they are good young men. Dee