“Did you have a good swim?” A sturdy, Black woman, white and
black turban wrapped around her head, a big grin on her bright face, sparkles
at us.
We’re in the locker room of the Plunge,
post swim, getting dressed. I’ve never seen this woman before, but since it’s
the Plunge’s 100-year anniversary, there are a few new folks exploring the
facility.
“It was fantastic!” I gushed, glancing
over at LS who was nodding in agreement. “How about you?” I asked. “Did you
swim?”
“Not today. I actually work with a
lot of disabled folks and came by to see if they still had a working lift here.”
“They do,” LS said, pulling on her
black tank top.
“Yeah, it’s awesome that they do,” the woman continued. “I’ll be back.”
She turned round, giving us a little
wave. I could feel her good vibrations spilling out around her.
That’s the kind of day it’s been
here at the Plunge, on this 100-year anniversary, August 15, 2026. Imagine! The
Plunge was built 100 years ago: August 15, 1926. (If I’m doing my basic math
correctly)
For weeks there has been a LOT of
hype about this event. Multiple emails from the manager and the City of
Richmond, alerting us to the list of events: a speech by the mayor, a
dedication to celebrate the building; kids’ events; lap swimming and more!
“Do you think you’ll be going to
the celebration tomorrow?” LS had asked me the day before. “It sounds like it’s
going to be really crowded. They’re talking about using a shuttle from the
elementary school several blocks away since there will be limited parking on
the street. I don’t know….” Her voice trailed off.
I knew what she was thinking.
Crowds! Ugh! She doesn’t like them. I don’t like them. All the noise. All the
screaming kids. All the clueless swimmers.
Yet…. there was a part of me that wanted to check it out. Not only to celebrate the Plunge, but also because it was the 12th anniversary of my father’s passing. 12 years. Hard to believe. Part of me felt like his loss was a long time ago. But there was another part of me, a bigger part, that missed him. Everyday. And especially on this day. I usually did a small ceremony for him on this anniversary. Nothing big. Just got out one of his photos with him and the dogs; lit a candle; played Clair de Lune on the piano for him. He always liked it when I played the piano. I have this memory that he liked this piece in particular. But I could just be making that up. After all, it has been 12 years.
So, today, at the Plunge, when we walked into the Natatorium and there was Diana, a regular swimmer who also is a professional harpist, strumming her giant instrument on the deck next to the deep lap pool, I was entranced. Enchanted. Delighted.
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| Diana Stork at her harp |
It was perfect.
To swim to live harp music, the soft notes cascading over me as I kicked back and forth, a feeling of perfect contentment and sublime satisfaction. Plus, there were NO crowds of people. At least not for lap swimming. It was just me, LS and her husband, and our friend B, another lifeguard, swimming laps.
“Isn’t it magical?” LS had asked me,
pausing at the wall, grinning at me.
“Oh, yeah!” I grinned back at her,
turning at the wall and zooming down the lane.
Who could have known that the 100-year
anniversary celebration, instead of being a mob scene of loud and clueless
people, would be a magical, musical ethereal experience?
It was so fitting, at least to me,
that this anniversary celebration and the small anniversary celebration I held
in my heart for my father landed on the same day.
My dad wasn’t a big swimmer. But he
liked to swim with us when we had a pool in Hacienda Heights. He’d come home
from work. Dive into the pool and we’d play Dead Bug all afternoon, floating in
the water, pretending that we’d been dead for hours and hours. (We came up with
this game when my mom told us not to exercise too hard because she didn’t want
us to breathe in all the Southern California smog of the 1960s era.)
As I finished dressing in the post
glow of the swim, I thought about my dad. My friends here at the Plunge. The
workers who built this beautiful pool 100 years ago. And, I was filled with, I know
this is cliché, but it’s true, I had such a profound feeling of gratitude for
this celebration of swimming, living and creating!
Viva la Plunge!
Viva City of Richmond!
But most of all, Viva el Papa!
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| Dad, Bob Jameson, w/Kronos and Karla |
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