On hot Washington summer nights back in the 50s, before we had air conditioning, people would go to the area around the Reflecting Pool, and rest outdoors. We knew better than to use the Pool to cool our feet because it always seemed to have gooey algae that would stick to our skin. And apart from Fannie Fox, an “exotic dancer,” diving into the Tidal Basin when the local police pulled over a drunk Wilbur Mills, people didn’t use that body of water for relief from Washington summer heat as well.
The Reflecting Pool was built in the early 1920s on soft marshland. Because it didn’t have the proper support, it actually sank a foot or so. Before this year’s debacle, there had been several efforts to repair the Pool, which prior to the 2012 fix, leaked hundreds of gallons of water and had to be drained semiannually for cleaning.
A Washington Post columnist has a suggestion – make it a natural pool with a well-designed system of running water, gravel, microbes and wetland plants. It could have crystal-clear water free of visible algae and without chemicals. Even Narcissus would be able to see his face in such a pool. And it wouldn’t cost $14 million.
Prayer for the Day
Ah, the summer heat comes,
And we long for the cool of spring;
We think of cool, refreshing water,
But we worry about the pollution.
God, help get us through this time,
For it is more than the heat that affects us/
In the nameof the One who gives us strength,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.”
Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends & Influence People
Do you wish people to think well of you? Don't speak well of yourself.”
Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and philosopher (1623-1662)
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 2:11