Lately, we have spent some time at a local neighborhood pool. Actually, it’s the neighborhood where my parents live and where I grew up. So, the kids love it and it’s great to take them out to play in the water.

However, once an hour, the lifeguard blows the whistle and hollers, “Adult Swim!” OK, I get the idea behind it. There might be adults up there who want to swim laps or something without splashing / playing kids getting in their way. Fine. Whatever. The thing is, that NEVER happens here. Ever. When the teenage lifeguard blows his whistle, the kids get out of the pool and the adults either get out with them, or sit by the edge, trying to reassure their anxious children that it will only be a few more minutes until they can get back in the pool. The pool literally sits unused for the entire time.

Sure, my dad will occasionally swim some laps, but he would never ask for them to clear out the pool, and he also understands that a person can swim around the children if necessary. In fact, if you can’t swim around a few kids, maybe you shouldn’t be swimming in the first place. If you happen to be training for the Olympics or something, then more power to you, but find another pool. Adult Swim is a waste of time and serves no purpose other than to annoy the kids and to afford the lifeguard(s) the opportunity to flirt with a friend/girlfriend for a few minutes and pay little attention to the pool.

An interesting side note: last week we were up there, and as usual, when they called for Adult Swim, all the younger kids flocked to the “kiddie” pool, a smaller pool that is only like six inches deep. As usual, the lifeguards pay absolutely no attention to that pool. This time though, a young girl (like 3 or 4 years old) slipped and fell head first into the kiddie pool and hit her head on the bottom. Fortunately, my wife and sister were right there and they grabbed her and pulled her out of the water, as did other adults who were actually paying attention to the children. Thumbs up to the lifeguard crew on not even knowing anything happened.

My brother once suggested that we should get a group of adults to form a little uprising. Next time they have Adult Swim, all the adults in the pool would splash, jump around and make a ton of noise. Basically, we’d act like kids while the kids were not allowed in the pool. That could be kinda fun. :)

The whole thing is just pointless.

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